U of M Celebrates Multiculture 

The University of Minnesota's Multicultural Center for Academic  Excellence hosted its annual Celebration of Achievement for Multicultural Students on April 26, at Ted Mann Concert Hall on the University's west bank.

The event, now in its fourth year, celebrated the graduation and accomplishment of first-generation students and students of color. About 1,000 students and family members attended. Nancy “Rusty” Barceló, the University's Vice President and Vice Provost of the Office for Equity and Diversity, offered the welcome to the event.

“The University of Minnesota is excited to bring our graduates, as well as their families and friends, together today to celebrate an important step along their journey to personal and professional accomplishment and success,” Barceló said. “Events and experiences like this serve as a reminder of the diversity among us, and of the strengths and richness that come from that diversity.” The Multicultural Center for Academic Excellence is a unit of the Office for Equity and Diversity. Graduates were recognized by leaders of their respective colleges during the ceremony. Each graduating student was presented with a handmade stole, designed by University of Minnesota alumnus Sysouk
Khambounmy '97. The stole is patterned after traditional African Kente cloth, and includes symbols reflecting connection, unity, and wisdom. Other speakers at the event included University of Minnesota Regent Maureen Cisneros and Allen S. Levine, Dean of the College of Food, Agriculture, and Natural Resource Sciences. The celebration also
included performances by singer Daniel Segura, Hmong performance group Qaib Dib, and mariachi band Mariachi Serenata.