Greetings Campus Community,

The African American Center for Academic Excellence( AACAE) has been on campus since the Spring of 2015. The names the Centers were developed with, AACAE and Latin Center for Academic Excellence, were only designed to be placeholders until the Coordinators and respective communities created more permanent names. Pre-pandemic, the Latin CAE was able to engage in a thorough process in which it became El Centro Académico Cultural. Until recently the AACAE had not had consistent leadership to engage in a process of establishing a long term name and mission.

During the Fall 2020 semester the Center surveyed self-identified Black and African students. Some of the responses that sparked a larger discussion about the name change included concepts around unity, representation, strengthening the bridge within Black campus community, and acknowledgement of Black identities beyond African American.

The Center further engaged the student and campus community during the month of February 2021, where specific center names were discussed and submitted directly from students for consideration. Based on this feedback, two dominant names emerged and to maintain our value of being student-centered, the center further engaged with our students requesting a vote among the two.

The results were closely examined, along with the feedback received from the fall survey. We are excited to share that effective immediately, the new name for the AACAE is now the Umoja Center for Pan African Student Excellence. This name captures the feedback from the two semester process, acknowledges and unifies diverse Black identities (Umoja — pronounced oo-MOH-ja— is unity in Swahili), while also maintaining the importance of academics.

The name Umoja Center for Pan African Student Excellence clearly emphasizes the goals and intentions of the Center. We need each other and we understand that Black student excellence is a shared responsibility of the Black campus community and the institution as a collective. The previous name acknowledged African American heritage, however; Pan African creates space for all Black cultures to be acknowledged. Umoja cannot be achieved without the recognition of the diaspora, and Pan Africanism itself is a movement that encourages and strengthens bonds of solidarity in order to grow and succeed together.

We are excited about this new launch, and look forward to continuing to serve our students in a new and exciting way.

Douglas Smith he/him
Coordinator | Umoja Center for Pan African Student Excellence
(707)826-3640