Kuo chosen by board as new MCC director

By Natasha Lindstrom

Judy Kuo, a senior accounting major, assumed her role as 2007-2008 Multicultural Center director on Monday, filling a position that had remained vacant for the first five weeks of school.

The MCC Executive Board met in a closed meeting last Thursday to decide between Kuo and fellow candidate Eric Deanda. Kuo received the necessary two-thirds vote to win this year's spot.

Kuo's first priority is to hire the rest of the MCC staff, which includes six positions and an assistant director.

Applications are currently available in the MCC office, and Kuo hopes to begin reviewing applications and taking concrete steps toward filling the spots within the next week.

Other goals on Kuo's list of priorities include recruiting fresh faces to the center and spreading the word that all are welcome.

"The MCC is a place that provides resources to the students and where they can come to meet people of different cultures," Kuo said.

"We're open to the entire Santa Clara community," she added.

Kuo would also like to work on the relationship between the members of the Executive Board and the nine clubs under the umbrella of the MCC.

"Sometimes, interests may collide," Kuo said. "One thing that I think could be worked on is feedback and communication between the two."

In order to draw different crowds to the center, Kuo suggested planning more collaborative events between MCC members and other student organizations or faculty members.

The MCC Executive Board will hire the assistant director through an application and interview process, MCC liaison Ericka Bratton said.

Bratton said she is pleased to see concrete leadership taking shape in the MCC.

"It's good to see the students were able to come to an agreement on selecting a student they felt was competent to do the job," said Bratton.

With only three classes this quarter and no other extracurricular commitments except for a work-study job at the Center for Nanostructures, Kuo said she will be able to commit up to 30 hours per week on planning and activities for the MCC.

Contact Natasha Lindstrom at (408) 554-4546 or nlindstrom@scu.edu.