Emporia State is in the process of constructing a new intercultural center to be located in the Memorial Union, a project that has been ongoing since August of 2021. 

The center will include a student-staffed welcome center where students can learn about resources, such as student organizations and scholarships, and a conference room to be used as a meeting space for diversity training staff and recognized student organizations. There will also be an interfaith space where students can pray or meditate and where the director and coordinators of the center will be located. In addition, there will be a lounge open to all students that will also house an intercultural library that can be converted into an event space.

The current diversity lounge is not frequently utilized by students because it is not always unlocked and openly accessible during the Memorial Union’s hours of operation. 

“My previous position before coming to ESU was running an intercultural center at a small college outside of Philadelphia,” Senior Diversity Officer and Assistant Dean Nyk Robertson said. “I saw the impact it had on students to have a space that felt like their own where they could connect with other people who had  similar experiences, and that also had institutional support behind it.” 

Robertson said the absence of an intercultural center “felt like a big miss” for ESU and they think it’s important that the intercultural center is visible so all students, both current and prospective, so they know that ESU supports them.

“My hope with the center is for students to find a space they feel that they belong in, that they can connect with people who have similar experiences as they do but also where people across differences can connect with each other,” they said.

Corky’s Cupboard has been moved to the basement of the Memorial Union to help make room for the intercultural center. The change of its location gives the cupboard access to a loading dock for faster unloading of donations. No university functions are being displaced for the project.