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OMA&D Celebrates 50th Anniversary Historical Display Opening

On May 3, UW students, administrators and staff gathered to commemorate the opening of the Office of Minority Affairs & Diversity’s 50th Anniversary Historical Exhibit that is on display in the North Lobby of Allen Library through June 13.

OMA&D collaborated with UW Libraries, as well as UW Professor Kristine Matthews and her design-firm Studio Matthews, to produce the display.

Titled “Revolution and Evolution,” the display is designed to reflect five barriers to education that are thematically tied to the five demands that members of the Black Student Union issued to then-UW President Charles E. Odegaard in May of 1968.

The content featured within the structures represents how OMA&D has worked to break down these barriers and build up excellence on behalf of the UW community over the past 50 years.

To develop a design concept for the exhibit, Professor Matthews engaged students in her DESIGN 467 Exhibition and Installation Design class during the 2018 Winter Quarter. After learning about OMA&D’s history from founding BSU member Emile Pitre, students worked in teams of three or four to develop design concepts. The groups presented their work at the end of January and a final concept – named Tearing Down & Building Up – was selected to serve as the inspiration for the current design.

Offering remarks at the opening reception were Vice President for Minority Affairs & Diversity and Chief Diversity Officer Rickey Hall, UW Libraries Senior Associate Dean Cynthia Fugate, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory STEM Education Director Evangelina Galvan Shreeve and UW Professor Kristine Matthews.

50th Anniversary Historical Display Opening

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Photos by Erin Rowley