The Multicultural Fellows Program is a volunteer association designed to provide a formal mechanism for faculty and staff to contribute to the university's mission of fostering a welcoming community for all. The program recognizes members of the university community for their voluntary contributions to diversity, while fostering professional development. It provides a means for individuals to:

conceptualize, participate in, and influence programs that promote diversity and multiculturalism;

offer input and feedback to the university on diversity and multicultural issues; and,share ideas on diversity and multicultural issues.

By becoming a MCF, individuals agree to serve as a resource for the university administration. Through focused and intentional dialogue, the Fellows will provide the university with a perspective on diversity and multicultural issues that represents the collective wisdom of people who are committed to the mission of inclusion.

Sponsors

The Multicultural Fellows Program was an initiative of the Dean of Students (DOS) Office, Political Science Department, and the Office of Multicultural Affairs (OMA). Former Senior Vice President and Provost, Peggy Meszaros, provided initial funding. The OMA and the DOS Office provided recurrent funding. The first group of Fellows was inducted in 1999. They were charged with developing strategies to address problems and situations that impede progress towards the goal of a truly inclusive community. As a result, the first group of Fellows developed the Virginia Tech Conductor, a quarterly insert for the Spectrum , Virginia Tech's faculty/staff newsletter, as a way of "reaching beyond the choir." With the retirement of the dean of students and subsequent restructuring of that department, Vice President for Multicultural Affairs, Ben Dixon, invited Personnel Services and the Center for Excellence in Undergraduate Teaching to be sponsors, which they gladly accepted.