Florida State University Office of Multicultural Affairs

The FSU Office of Multicultural Affairs began as the Office of Minority Affairs in 1972, in response to the needs of minority students on the FSU campus. It reported directly to the FSU President, and was primarily responsible for the implementation of equal employment opportunity and affirmative action laws in employment. During the mid 1970s, that office was redesignated as the Office of Human Affairs, responsible for the development, implementation, and monitoring of FSU's Affirmative Action Program. In the late 1970s, FSU established the Office of Minority Student Affairs, whose first director, John Burt, also reported directly to the University President.

From the late 1970s through the early 1990s, the Office of Minority Student Affairs sponsored many activities and programs. These included the Black Student Leadership Conference and Unity Day Interfaith Services, designed to educate students about racial and ethnic diversity on campus, the Multicultural Student Support Center and Martin Luther King Scholarship and Loan Fund, and the SALSA (Student Affairs Linking Student Affairs) program with Costa Rica. The department also implemented guidelines that addressed issues with respect to minority students, such as non-discrimination, racism, and homophobia, published the Florida State University Statement on Values and Ethics and the Office of Minority Affairs newsletters, administered the Black Cultural Center and Horizons Unlimited (an academic retention program), and provided undergraduate tutoring by graduate students.

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