Multicultural Resource Center records
Scope and Contents
This collection consists of records from the Multicultural Resource Center (MRC) relating to various administrative functions of the office, such as planning and publicizing programs, events, and workshops. Types of material include correspondence, memoranda, proposals, reports, manuals, minutes, building plans, brochures and flyers, and audio-visual material. Also included is a student-made quilt from the 2002 Growing Up Southern quilt project.
Topics largely relate to women’s, minority, and LGBTQ issues. Although the United Religious Ministry (URM) was not included in the Multicultural Resource Center until 2007, this collection does contain the URM’s records from as early as 1966. Of note are the records pertaining to proposals for a facility for the Center for Religion and Living and for a Meditation Center.
The collection is divided into several series and single files. See the scope note for each series for more detailed information on their contents.
Dates
- Creation: 1966-2014
Creator
Accessing the Collection
This collection contains some restricted material. A file containing an internship report is restricted due to student info and must be reviewed by archives staff before access can be granted.
Copyright
Copyright held by UNC Charlotte. It is the patron's obligation to determine and satisfy copyright or other case restrictions when publishing or otherwise distributing materials found in the collections.
Administrative History
The Multicultural Resource Center (MRC) was formed after a 1996 proposal by then-senior class president Joseph Toomer. According to the Center’s webpage, the vision was “to educate others in the campus community about the need for a warm and inviting place for people of diverse backgrounds.” Programs sponsored by the Multicultural Resource Center included the annual Martin Luther King celebration.
Among the offices that fell under the MRC was Religious and Spiritual Life (RSL), which was formerly named the Office of Religious Affairs (ORA). This office oversaw what was initially the United Religious Ministry (URM), created in 1965 by Bonnie Cone with Loy Witherspoon as its director.
Beginning in 1997, various department heads within the Division of Student Affairs filled the United Religious Ministry’s rotating director role. Also in 1997, the URM was renamed the Inter-Religious Council (IRC) and was opened to any individuals instead of merely to campus ministers. In 2007, the Office of Religious Affairs became Religious and Spiritual Life and joined the Multicultural Resource Center. Two years later, the Inter-Religious Council was disbanded as RSL began to fulfill the needs IRC was created to meet.
In July 2018, the MRC, RSL, and two other offices, Latinx Student Services and Student Advising for Freshman Excellence (S.A.F.E.), began the process of merging into the newly named Office of Identity, Equity, and Engagement, which is part of the Division of Student Affairs.
Sources:
Bruce, Sherry. “History.” Religious and Spiritual Life. University of North Carolina at Charlotte. https://rsl.uncc.edu/history: accessed 26 September 2017.
“History.” Office of Identity, Equity, and Engagement. University of North Carolina at Charlotte. https://rsl.uncc.edu/about/history: accessed 26 October 2018.
Extent
6.462 Linear Feet (11 boxes [8 letter document cases; 1 legal document case; 2 record cartons])
8.54 Megabytes
Language of Materials
English
Arrangement
This collection was initially received in six separate accessions, which were either left unprocessed or processed as separate collections. In Fall 2017, the accessions were merged into a single collection, and the unprocessed accessions were processed and added to the collection. Physically, original order was maintained within each accession. Folder titles were retained where possible. Intellectually, the files were grouped into series and subseries and were arranged alphabetically, or in some cases chronologically, within each. For more information on original condition and staff actions, see Processing Information note.
Processing Information
Accession UA2012-03 (Boxes 2-6) was loosely processed on receipt, being grouped into large accordion folders labeled “Student Organizations” or “Martin Luther King.” The files appeared to have been received as loose papers. In August 2017, the material was separated into smaller folders and more specifically labeled. Physical original order was largely maintained and not every item was examined, so file titles are not as specific as they would be with item-level processing. For the intellectual order (inventory), the files were rearranged with like files together.
Accession UA2016-11 (Meditation Center – Box 2) was processed and added to various subseries within the United Religious Ministry series.
Accession UA2014-24 (Boxes 7-10) materials were received in hanging folders with multiple folders in each one, in binders, or as loose materials. Physical original order was maintained; hanging folders were removed, and in many cases the title of each hanging folder was made a subseries. When the hanging folder only included one file, it was added to the inventory as a file, not a subseries. Binders were removed and their contents placed in folders.
Subject
- Cone, Bonnie E., 1907-2003 (Person)
- Witherspoon, Loy H., 1930-2017 (Person)
- University of North Carolina at Charlotte. Multicultural Resource Center (Organization)
- University of North Carolina at Charlotte -- Students (Organization)
- Title
- Multicultural Resource Center records
- Status
- Completed
- Author
- Olivia Eanes
- Date
- September 2017
- Description rules
- Describing Archives: A Content Standard
- Language of description
- Undetermined
- Script of description
- Code for undetermined script
- Language of description note
- English
Repository Details
Part of the University Archives, J. Murrey Atkins Library Special Collections and University Archives, UNC Charlotte [All collections not yet online. For assistance, contact Special Collections: spec-coll@uncc.edu; 704-687-1170] Repository
Atkins Library, UNC Charlotte
9201 University City Blvd
Charlotte NC 28223 United States
spec-coll@uncc.edu
