Duke University. Office of Minority Affairs.

Since its inception in 1969, the Office of Minority Affairs (formerly known as the Office of Black Affairs and currently the Office of Intercultural Affairs) has primarily addressed the needs of the African American student population at Duke University, providing an organizational structure through which Black participation in the University and local communities can obtain the greatest degree of effectiveness.

From the description of Office of Minority Affairs Records, 1969-1993. (Duke University Library). WorldCat record id: 184986977

Since its inception in 1969, the Office of Minority Affairs (formerly known as the Office of Black Affairs and currently the Office of Intercultural Affairs) has primarily addressed the needs of the African American student population at Duke University. Created soon after the Afro-American Society students led a Black student takeover of the Allen Building to spark University action on the concerns of Black students, the core mission of the Office of Black Affairs was to provide outreach to black students to facilitate rapid involvement with the university community through mentorship programs, financial aid, academic counseling and tutoring, and the development of Black Studies courses. Under some controversy, the name was changed to the Office of Minority Affairs in 1978. While the name had changed, the core mission of the office remained the same, which was to provide an organizational structure through which Black participation in the University and local communities obtained the greatest degree of effectiveness.

One of the more prominent programs of the Office of Minority Affairs was the Summer Transitional Program (STP). Initiated in 1969 as one of the ten demands made of the University following the occupation of the Allen Building, the experimental program was designed to facilitate the student's transition from the secondary level to the demands of the university level. With the original goal of decreasing the attrition rate of black students by raising the level of academic performance and introducing the students to the social structures of Duke University at a very early date, in the early 1970's the focus of STP changed to assist all students, no matter their ethnic group, in their transition to university life.

From the guide to the Office of Minority Affairs records, 1969-1993, (University Archives, Duke University)