Office/Department: Center for Multicultural Student Services (CMSS)
Director: Dr. Bruce E. Mitchell II
Supervisor: Rebeca Barge

Department Mission Statement:The Center for Multicultural Student Services provides educational and celebratory programs and services that support an inclusive campus community in which members value diversity within themselves and others

Department Functional Areas: Cultural Programming and Awareness, Student Support, Leadership
Development, Recruitment and Retention

Students who participate in this graduate assistantship will gain experience in the following areas:

• College student development
• Challenge and support of students and student groups
• Diversity affairs/education, multiculturalism and inclusion
• Training and development of student groups/organizations
• Supervision of student staff teams
• Teambuilding: planning and implementation
• Event planning: marketing, management, and logistics
• Participation in departmental committees and projects
• Collaboration across university departments
• Attendance at departmental and divisional meetings
• Managing change in an organization
• Navigating organizational structure and hierarchy
• Communication within an organization/department
• Use of technology

Students who participate in this experience will be exposed to the purposeful application of the following student development, career development, counseling and/or organizational theories:

• Psychosocial Developmental Theories: (Chickering)
• Cognitive Developmental Theories: (Perry, Kolhberg, Belenky, Gilligan)
• Typology: (Jung, Myers‐Briggs)
• Identity Development Theories: (Racial, White, Minority, Sexual, Gender, Ability, Religious, Social Class, Multiple)
• Counseling Theories

Students who participate in this graduate assistantship will be evaluated and provided ongoing feedback in the following ways:

• Weekly one on one meetings with direct supervisor
• Periodic meetings with other CMSS staff members directly related to tasks assigned

Students who participate in this experience will be evaluated and provided on‐going feedback in the following ways:

• Weekly one on one consultation meetings with direct supervisor
• Periodic theory to practice meetings with additional staff members as needed

Specific expectations of students assigned to this site include:

• Arrive early in August for CMSS Staff Training (Aug 10th)
• Create and maintain a 20 hour per week schedule designed to meet assistantship requirements
• Support the mission of CMSS, Student Affairs and JMU
• Assist CMSS staff with events and programs relating to four functional areas
  (Multicultural Programming, Student Leadership, Student Support and Advocacy, and DEEP Impact)
• Support assigned pro‐staff lead on major calendar programs such as CMSS Annual Open
  House, Multicultural Student Leadership Summit, Homecoming Step Show and events,
  MLK Celebration Week, Multicultural Student Leadership Awards Ceremony, etc.
• Serve as support with 1 student leadership travel opportunity: Experiential Learning Trip
  (ELT), national and/or regional identity/diversity‐based conference
• Assist in the planning and execution of Experiential Learning Trips (ELT’s)
• Support with hiring, training and development of DEEP Impact Diversity Educators
• Support with execution of DEEP Dialogues, Cultural Series events, and Outreach
• Represent department occasionally at university functions, such as Student Org Night, CHOICES, Vendor Resources Fairs, etc.
• Perform designated tasks and maintain records and files in a timely, organized and professional manner
• Adhere to budget guidelines for any/all projects
• Attend CMSS weekly staff meetings, supervision meetings, and other assigned student organization and CMSS functions
• Fulfill other duties as assigned by the Director, Associate or Assistant Directors of the Center