Students Demand New Search for Director of African-American Student Affairs at University of Arizona

The University of Arizona had narrowed the field of applicants to two finalists for the position of director of African-American student affairs. The candidates were Mounira Morris, director of diversity affairs for Allegheny College in Pennsylvania, and Nura A. Dualeh, coordinator for the McNair Achievement Program at the University of Arizona.

But now the university has decided to delay hiring a person for the position after students complained that they were not consulted about the search. Black student groups on campus claim that there was no input from undergraduate students on who should fill the position. The university claims that a student was appointed to the search committee but never showed up for meetings.

The administration decided that if it went ahead and made the appointment it would anger black students on campus, and the new director, who would be in charge of the Martin Luther King Jr. Student Center, would be placed in an awkward situation.

Ofunneka Arah, head of the NAACP chapter on campus, told the Tucson Citizen, “We want to start over. We want the process to be done the right way.”

Copyright © 2006. The Journal of Blacks in Higher Education. All rights reserved.