Mission Statement

The Thea Bowman AHANA and Intercultural Center supports the undergraduate community—with a particular focus on AHANA (people of African, Hispanic, Asian, and Native American descent), multicultural, multiracial, and LGBTQ+ students—in navigating college life and fulfilling their potential. 

We strive to promote a welcoming environment that fosters holistic development. The Center seeks to form students of conscience, excellence, competence, and compassion who will make a difference in the world. Our goal is to retain, care for, and graduate our students by offering programs to facilitate their identity formation, build cultural competency, and create community across areas of difference. Our work promotes equity, builds community, and supports opportunity while caring for our students.

Vision

Our vision is to promote equity, build community, and support opportunity.

Inspiration

Our work is inspired by the life and philosophy of Thea Bowman, a Catholic nun of the Franciscan Sisters of the Perpetual Adoration, who “helped people everywhere she went to explore their identity and to find their deepest humanity.” (Smith & Feister, 1)

Pillars of the Office

Ingrained in our mission are the following:

Promote Equity

We provide counseling and tuition remission programs to ensure all students have equal access to the full college experience.

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Build Community

We seek to bring members of the BC community together through events, retreats, and mentoring opportunities.

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Support Opportunity

We recognize AHANA students who have contributed to campus life through service, academic excellence, or leadership.

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BAIC Values

In 1973, Fr. Pedro Arrupe, S.J., then General of the Society of Jesus, coined the phrase “men and women for others.” He envisioned that graduates from Jesuit educational institutions would be people who worked for justice.

Our work is rooted in the Catholic tradition of our University, specifically in the Catholic Social Teaching Principles, which we understand express a commitment to addressing institutional racism and inequities for AHANA and low-income students. Our guiding principles are:

Human dignity and rights

We believe that a just society is based on respect for human dignity.

Common good

We believe that we all have a stake in ensuring that individuals within our community reach their fulfillment and can fully participate in their communities.

Subsidiarity

We believe that we have a duty to denounce unjust situations in society and to work with authorities to protect people from abuses.

Solidarity

We believe that our interdependence calls us to contribute to positive changes in society.

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