EWU has recently announced that there will be a new and first permanent director of the EWU Multicultural Center, Vanessa Delgado. Delgado starts on March 1 and is currently preparing to move to Eastern Washington with her wife and dog.

According to an Eastern 24/7 article, “Delgado comes to Eastern from the University of Kansas where she managed the Center for Sexuality and Gender Diversity since 2015. Prior to that she spent three years directing initiatives for the LGBTQ+ Resource Center and the Multicultural Office for Student Access, Inclusiveness and Community (M.O.S.A.I.C.) at the University of Colorado, Colorado Springs.”

“The work I have engaged in has provided me an understanding of the unique needs of students who have been historically, systematically and institutionally underrepresented on college campuses,” said Delgado, about her qualifications for this position. “I would also hope that part of my qualifications is my passion and love for this work.”

Delgado believes that her role as the new director and the Multicultural Center as a whole is to promote the success of marginalized students. Everything the office does is to better serve the needs and interests of underrepresented students.

“Social justice should be the lens with which we move though all our work,” said Delgado.

When asked what one thing she wants EWU students to know about the center, Delgado said, “We’re here for you… one of the biggest challenges for an identity-based office/center/organization is connecting to our students… I want our students to feel comfortable and welcome and know they belong in the center and at Eastern.”

Delgado feels that she will be a good match for this position because she can connect to these students.

As a “first generation, Hispanic, queer, woman,” Delgado believes she can be the there for the students on a deeper level since she understands what it was like being in their shoes.

Delgado said that she once heard someone say, “I want to be the professional staff member that I needed when I was them.” She said that it always stuck with her and her hope is to be that staff member for EWU students.

Delgado sees this as an opportunity to build on and cultivate the community at EWU. She is pleased to be continuing her social justice work and to be working on a campus that is so actively engaged in inclusion work.

The Multicultural Center is currently located in Showalter, but will move to the new Pence Union Building (PUB) when construction is finished.