Office of Diversity and Inclusion turns 50 years old
To celebrate a half-century since the founding of the Office of Diversity and Inclusion at Ohio State, meet Rose Wilson-Hill, who has been there from Day One.
It was a sunny day during the tumultuous spring of 1968. Hunger for change was in the air, and so when four Black students were ordered off an Ohio State shuttle bus by a white driver, Black Student Union leaders swung into action. They mounted a day-long occupation of Ohio State’s Administration Building — now Bricker Hall, detailing simple but powerful demands: Establish a Black studies department, recruit more Black students, hire more Black faculty. The day ended in controversy when 34 students were arrested. Eventually, eight were expelled. By 1970, the university had established a Black studies department and created the Office of Minority Affairs, headed by Frank W. Hale Jr., to recruit Black graduate and undergraduate students. Known today as the Office of Diversity and Inclusion, this structure built from bricks of that 1968 demonstration supports thousands of students with scholarship, tutoring and enrichment programs. It’s at the heart of the university’s renewed sense of urgency to address persistent racial injustice and inequity.
Cara Reed
Hall of fame nominations are open
Nominate a deserving person for the Office of Diversity and Inclusion’s inaugural hall of fame class. Nominations are due by Oct. 30.
