ODI family and friends from far and wide returned to campus over the weekend to enjoy ODI’s Homecoming Open House and Celebration, greeting old friends and making new ones during the festivities in Hale Hall.
“Home is meant to be a space that’s filled with warmth, loved ones, community, and belonging,” remarked Dr. Andreá Williams, Associate Vice Provost for Diversity and Inclusion, in her brief remarks capping Saturday’s brunch. “That’s what we’re building here in Hale Hall. In fact, that’s what has stood for fifty years.”
Such ideas of “home” were also embraced through the celebration’s activities commemorating the 35th anniversary of the Hale Black Cultural Center, known as a “home away from home” for generations of students. As part of the anniversary celebration, guests were able to look at the Hale Center's new installation of Richard Duarte Brown’s artwork, “Finding Our Way Home.”
Festivities began with ODI's Homecoming Open House on Friday, October 25. Representatives from the Asian & Pacific Islander Alumni Society (APIAS), Black Alumni Society (BAS), Scarlet & Gay: The OSU LGBTQ Alumni Society (S&G), and Young Scholars Program Alumni Society (YSPAS) as well as ODI leadership spoke.
The next morning, food, dancing, a photo booth, and presentations by representatives from the Black and YSP Alumni Societies were on tap as the Homecoming Celebration offered opportunities to connect with old friends while honoring ODI’s legacy as a leader in diversity efforts both at The Ohio State University and across the country.
“Diversity and inclusion should be important for everyone,” said Tanya Upthegrove Coleman, a Homecoming attendee who earned her master’s in 1997. “It’s necessary for success; it’s necessary for us to grow, and it’s necessary for allowing us to be who we are,” she said. “ODI supports all of us, so I’ll always support that.”