Despite accepting applications and interviewing candidates for the position earlier this summer, Sacramento State’s Multi-Cultural Center has been without a full-time director for more than two years, but hopes to have a new director in place by January.

The Center has had a rotating cast of temporary directors since December of 2005 when the position was vacated by Leonard Valdez.

Elva Ramirez, a new lecturer in the women’s studies department, and Jerry Blake, acting coordinator of the Educational Opportunity Program (EOP), were among the applicants. Blake was offered the job, but turned it down down for personal reasons, he said.

Edward Jones, vice-president of Student Affairs, said the Center’s search committee, which consists of Ethnic Studies Chair David Leon, Associated Students, Inc. President Christina Romero and Laura Perez, a certified professional business coach, is continuing its efforts and will meet again on Friday to determine the preliminary hiring process and job description.

“Everything takes so long,” Jones said.

He said the ideal candidate will be qualified to handle administrative functions such as staffing and supervision, have a thorough understanding of cultural pluralism, be willing to network around campus with other departments and organizations, and reach out to the greater Sacramento community.

“And perhaps most important…(the person will be) someone the students can relate to,” he said.

Jones hopes that under its new leadership, the Multi-Cultural Center will be able to work closely with the campus’ diverse student organizations, bringing them together to cooperate on events and programming.

Ricky Gutierrez, 22, who used to work as a student assistant for the Center and is a member of the Coalition for Cultural Opportunities in Leadership and Overall Retention of Students, or C-COLORS, said not having a full-time director has had a negative impact on the Center’s activities and overall effectiveness.

“(The absence) has had a big effect on the Multi-Cultural Center?right now it’s not really running any programs,” Gutierrez, a sociology major, said.

According to the group’s MySpace page, C-COLORS consists of students, faculty and staff members who wish to address the issue of a “passive and slowly deteriorating Multi-Cultural Center” while pushing for a “student-focused and student-run” organization.

Gutierrez said the Center’s problem of continuity was compounded by its entire staff being laid-off this past winter, with the exception of administrative coordinator Asha King, who works for the Multi-Cultural Center and the Women’s Resource Center.

King could not be reached for comment.

“The reason they gave us was (that) there (wasn’t any) work to be done over the summer for the Multi-Cultural Center, but we obviously were a part of the C-COLORS organization that was meeting with the administration,” Gutierrez said, speculating on the reason the student assistants were not hired back. “We saw other student assistants working there.”

Applications are now being reviewed for new student-assistants to begin working by the start of the fall semester, according to the Multi-Cultural Center’s website.

“At this point, as we look for a permanent director, I have a student assistant that is?(helping) with the day to day legwork,” Jones said. “We’re going to keep things going. I’ts going to be harder on me, but the Center will not miss a beat.”

The Multi-Cultural Center will host a reception on Sept. 13 in the University Union Ballroom, followed by a joint open-house with the WRC on Sept. 19.

Avi Ehrlich can be reached at [email protected].