Beyond the doubts and negative characterizations coming from many critics, the development of cultural centers should continue. When we improve the cultural and social comfort levels on campus, we improve the chances for higher retention rates. The cultural center can be an active agent for this institutional function. Cultural-specific, multicultural and intercultural centers offer opportunities for scholarship, research, and faculty enrichment in areas of race, culture, and ethnicity across all disciplines. With adequate funding, these centers can become vital resources for academic growth and social change.
Cultural centers represent one path toward improving campus race relations.
Students will continue to hold institutions accountable for campus environments that are unfriendly and culturally incongruent with their experiences and needs. Our ability to meet these challenges need not be judged only by the number of centers we create, but by how open we are to helping students to meet their needs. And, as evidenced on many campuses, cultural centers can be key in this process.