Keene State College is committed to providing diversity in our curriculum and in our community. The programs of KSC are governed by the principles of equal opportunity, just treatment, and respect for all people.

Campus Commission on Diversity and Multiculturalism (CCDM)
The mission of the Diversity Commission is to advance diversity and multiculturalism on the KSC campus. Official members are appointed by the President, but any student, staff or faculty member who would like to contribute is invited to contact Kathleen Maceda , Ruth Parent or John Halter. Current subcommittee goals are listed on the Mission page. Meeting times for the Commission are listed under Events and Trainings.

Ethnic Profile of Students and Faculty and Staff
For the 2006-2007 academic year, Keene State College had 183 students of color. If you are a student of color and are interested in attending KSC, contact Kevin Justice for more information. Every semester the Multicultural Coordinator goes on the road to recruit students at College fairs.

Student Organizations
The Common Ground Multicultural Club provides a forum for students interested in the issues of diversity and multiculturalism to get together, provide support to one another, and organize social and educational events that have a multicultural focus. The group plans programs that reach out not only to the Keene State College campus, but also to the larger Keene community.

KSC Pride provides a safe, relaxed, social atmosphere for lesbians, gays, bisexuals and others of alternative lifestyles as well as providing a forum for discussion of topics and concerns. Membership is open to all Keene State College students.

Keene State has two federally funded TRIO programs which afford educational opportunity for low income and disabled Americans.

The Upward Bound program prepares high school students for success in high school and enrollment in college. Aspire provides low income and disabled KSC students with academic support services designed to enhance success.

The Office of Disability Services provides services to students with disabilities to ensure that all activities and programs are accessible. Through partnerships with students, faculty and staff, we promote self-awareness, self-determination and self-advocacy to provide opportunities for academic success.

Academic Program Highlights
Since the study of diverse cultures and perspectives is implicit in KSC's mission, examination of multicultural perspectives, values and literatures is interwoven into many classes throughout the college curriculum and is an important component in the Integrative Studies Program.

National and International Exchange Program
The International & National Exchange Center provides information and support for two groups of students: incoming international students and national exchange students, as well as outgoing study abroad/study away students.

Summer Reading Program
The summer reading program is designed to help first-year students make the transition to college, where the reading and discussing of challenging, diverse texts is integral to the campus community.

Multicultural Seminars and Events
Faculty, staff and students are invited to bi-weekly seminars sponsored by the Diversity Commission. Other events and trainings are sponsored by the Commission throughout the year.

Campus Cultural Activities
The Presenting Series Redfern Arts Center brings visiting artists representing a diversity of cultural values to present works that are original, thought-provoking, educational, and entertaining.

The exhibits at the Thorne-Sagendorph Art Gallery honor the scope of artistic expression, providing visitors with refreshing, new experiences, often moving them beyond what they know to new areas of appreciation.

The Putnam Theater screens a variety of films including current independent foreign films.

Mason Library has two outstanding multicultural collections, the Cohen Center for Holocaust Studies and the Orang Asli Archive which houses materials related to indigenous peoples of Penisular Malaysia.

Biennial World Affairs Symposium
Every other year KSC sponsors a symposium on a major world issue. The symposium in 2003 was Race in the 21st Century, and in fall 2005 it was Globalization: Legacies and Discontents. What Now? The symposium critically examined the phenomenon of globalization, which encompasses every aspect of human life, affecting economic, political, technological and cultural domains.