Harvard Office of Culture and Community Awards Grants to Seven Student Projects

Harvard Office of Culture and Community Awards Grants to Seven Student Projects

The grant program serves as a replacement for several funding streams that were previously administered by Harvard’s diversity offices, which were closed last summer. According to the OCC, the program is intended to support events that promote community building, exchange of perspectives, and honest dialogue among the student community.

Program Requirements and Selection Process

To qualify for funding, student organizations must meet specific criteria mandated by the OCC. The program requires collaboration between at least two student organizations and mandates that all funded events be explicitly marketed as open to all Harvard College students.

Final decisions regarding the grants are made by Alta Mauro, the Associate Dean of Students for Culture and Community, who reviews applications with the assistance of an 11-student advisory board. Matias Ramos, the Associate Director of the Harvard Foundation and the program manager for the grants, stated that the office seeks projects centered on generating dialog or discussion among students and fostering cultural exploration or topics that might be up for debate or exploration, related to culture and to intellectual exchange.

Student Organization Participation and Perspectives

The inaugural group of recipients includes several prominent campus organizations, such as Harvard Hillel, the Harvard Black Students Association, the Harvard Undergraduate Rural League (HURL), and the Harvard Turkish Student Association (HTSA).

The HTSA plans to utilize the grant to fund its Transnational Justice Seminar Series, an initiative designed to facilitate student engagement on international legal issues, including migration and climate change. Additionally, the Association of Black Harvard Women utilized grant funds last semester to host Road to Success, a week-long series focused on professional development.

The grant’s requirement that events be marketed as open to all students has prompted mixed reactions among affinity groups. Miles K. Reeves ’27, president of the Harvard Black Men’s Forum, noted that his organization was initially hesitant to apply due to concerns regarding the accessibility of programming intended for a specific demographic. Despite these reservations, the Black Men’s Forum was ultimately listed among the grant recipients.

Elizabeth R. Okoro ’28, Chief of Staff for HURL, highlighted the inclusive nature of the organization’s mission, noting that all students, whether international or from the United States, possess experience in either urban or rural environments.

Context of the New Funding Initiative

The rollout of the OCC grant program follows the closure of Harvard’s diversity centers last July, an event that left several student organizations searching for alternative financial support. The grant program, which began accepting applications in October, represents the College’s latest effort to restructure how it supports student-led initiatives. While the grants offer a new source of funding, some affinity groups continue to adjust to the broader changes in the College’s approach to diversity-related funding.