Multiple Cal Poly cultural centers and support programs will be relocated on campus starting this summer, according to a campuswide email from Student Affairs on Tuesday.
Programs being moved include the Black Academic Excellence Center, Latine/x Center for Academic Success and Achievement, Cal Poly Scholars and the Educational Opportunity Program.
All currently housed in Bldg. 52, the programs will relocate to Bldg. 15 on the corner of N Perimeter Road and Safety Way. TRIO Achievers will also move to Bldg. 15 from its current residence in Bldg. 124.
The relocations are part of Cal Poly’s Space Optimization effort, which strives to ensure that all university facilities are being used effectively and to further student success, according to Cal Poly Spokesperson Matt Lazier.
“Bldg. 52 is originally an academic space, so these moves will return Bldg. 52 spaces to their original intended usage while also creating a new centralized space for many of the university’s campus cultural centers,” Lazier stated in an email to Mustang News.
This move follows the merger of the Office of University Diversity and Inclusion in January into the University Personnel division. The office serves as the main source of DEI initiatives for the university.
These transitions at Cal Poly come amidst President Donald Trump’s continued efforts to defund DEI programs nationwide, according to the Associated Press.
When asked if there was federal pressure or influence towards Cal Poly that led to the relocation of these programs, Lazier stated over email: “The short answer is: No,” and referenced the Space Optimization program.
In addition to multiple cultural centers, the Dream Center will relocate to the yakʔitʸutʸu residential community (No. 172) and share a space with the Native American and Indigenous Cultural Center.
Following the opening of the newly renovated Kennedy Library, the Office of Writing and Learning, Cal Poly International Center, University Honors Program and Cal Poly Print and Copy will move back into the space.
In Bldg. 52, the Mustang Success Center, UA Retention, the Transfer Center and Graduate Education will all expand into neighboring rooms.
