As part of the university’s focus on uplifting the voices of students from diverse identities, backgrounds and experiences, Pacific’s Office of Intercultural Student Success has been renamed the Center for Identity and Inclusion. 

The revamped center will co-locate Pacific’s cultural affinity groups, which were dispersed throughout campus, into one central location on the first and second floors of the McCaffrey Center. 

Intercultural Student Success has long been the campus hub for students who are members of cultural, LGBTQ and gender-focused identity groups. Over the years, its charge has grown larger and more complex.

“The name was not resonating with the campus,” said Mario Enriquez ’10, who joined Pacific in late January as the center’s new director. “Students didn’t know we were here or what we offered, and as a result, they couldn’t envision themselves in the space.”

Enriquez, who brings a decade of professional experience in Latino civil rights and LGBTQ advocacy at the state and federal level, landed on the new name after months of research and input from students, faculty and staff.

Transformed by vibrant paint and colorful modular furniture, the physical changes underscore the way the center’s work will impact students, with a renewed focus on coalition building, identity development and support services for Pacific’s five cultural affinity groups:

• El Centro (formerly LatinX)
• Native American Student Services
• Black Student Services
• Asian, Pacific Islander and Desi Student Services
• LGBTQ+ Resource Center (formerly Pride Resource Center)

“The pandemic taught us to rethink how we engage with each other, and as we came back together, we had a real opportunity to be more intentional about the spaces and services students need,” Enriquez said. “To be equitable, we needed to be physically at the center of campus. Now, each group will have its own unique space in the center, but we’ll also have the ability to be together.”

Students will have access to the center after hours for meetings and special events, or to casually meet and build friendships. Faculty members are also encouraged to use the space for special lectures or to partner with one of the center’s program specialists to co-lead workshops on topics related to DEI.

“The center is as colorful as the people it serves,” said Khushi Pannu, an incoming freshman majoring in health studies. “Stockton is one of the most diverse cities in the nation, so having this center is important because it will help students find a sense of belonging.”

A formal ribbon-cutting ceremony is planned for Homecoming Weekend October 14-16.