SUNY Brockport announced two new programs they launched this fall to support underrepresented students.

According to a press release, the Joey Jackson Intercultural Center was created after listening to feedback from students. This comes after months of racial tension on campus. The center, located in the Seymour College Union in room 223, is dedicated to providing underrepresented students and their allies with leadership opportunities, celebration, collaboration, education and reflection.

The center was named after Joey Jackson, a SUNY Brockport alumnus and former Brockport Student Government President. Jackson, a CNN/HNL legal analyst and founder of the J. Jackson Law Firm, made a generous donation to make the center possible.

The search for a program coordinator for the center will begin in the spring.

The second initiative unveiled by the college is the Talon Academy. The academy was created to support Men of Color in their personal and academic pursuit of success. The mission is to enhance graduation and success rates through academics, enrichment and encouragement. The three goals of the academy are academic success, mentoring and leadership development.

Terrain Garvis, a transition and success coordinator in the college’s Academic Success Center will lead the Talon Academy.

“Over the course of the spring and summer, we have been actively engaged in making structural changes to improve campus climate and to hold ourselves accountable for building an inclusive Brockport community,” SUNY Brockport President Heidi MacPherson stated. “These two programs are examples of some significant progress that has been made to address our desire to be a richly inclusive and anti-racist campus community.”

Both programs are available to students this fall.