Last semester, two staff positions were eliminated as part of the proposed merger of the International House and the Center for Multicultural Affairs.
The merger is on hold this semester to allow for student input, but Jan. 11 marked the last day at Duke for Multicultural Center Staff Specialist Juanita Johnson and Julian Sanchez, formerly the center’s director.
“I am very lucky to have had the best job on campus working on the most important agenda with outstanding groups of progressive students, and a devoted cadre of staff and faculty colleagues,” Sanchez wrote in an e-mail.
Sanchez was recruited to Duke in 1993 by Janet Smith-Dickerson, former vice president for student affairs. Dickerson hoped Sanchez’s prior experience would provide support to a wider range of minority groups on campus.
Sanchez spent 10 years as the Director of Minority Affairs at the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse. He declined to be interviewed by phone for this story.
Johnson, a Durham native, had been working at Duke since 1981. Although she relocated briefly to Virginia, she returned to Duke in 2003.
“I’m one of those people that accepts change,” Johnson said in a November interview. “The part I had a problem with is the way it was all handled.”
Johnson said she and Sanchez were dismissed the morning of Nov. 9. Later that day, Zoila Airall, assistant vice president for student affairs, announced the merger to the Council of Cultural Groups Presidents.
“It’s a sad thing to... get a call at 8:45 a.m. and they tell you you are going to be in a meeting at 10 a.m. with no information on the meeting,” Johnson said. “I don’t see how my meager salary made a difference or a dent in the reduction of costs.”
Johnson could not be reached for comment this month.
Sanchez said he will remain in Durham for now. He plans to stay in touch with all those he has worked with and will continue to help those who seek his assistance.
“I feel honored to have been given the opportunity to serve Duke University and its fabulous students for the past sixteen-and-a-half years,” Sanchez wrote. “One of my dear students reminded me recently that all things happen for a reason... as a result I see the glass half-full.”
In addition to advising many student groups at Duke, Sanchez helped establish new organizations to make the University a more inclusive campus.
Shortly after his arrival, Sanchez created the Presidents’ Council, which started the Unity through Diversity Forum. The forum brought together students of various backgrounds to present “state of the university” reports on race relations at Duke. These reports later led to the establishment of the Multicultural Center.
The 10th annual forum is scheduled to take place this Spring.
“This, for many reasons, was a significant and important accomplishment,” Sanchez wrote. “I am so proud to have been associated with this phenomenal group of students.”
Sanchez also worked with students to create the Center for Race Relations and the Common Ground retreat program.
Although Sanchez and Johnson are no longer at Duke, Sanchez said he is optimistic about the impending changes to the MCC.
“In regards to the future of the Multicultural Center, I have no idea what’s in store,” Sanchez wrote. “I can only say that I am delighted to see that students will be given a voice in deciding its fate since it was their proposal.”
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