LEWISTON, N.Y. (AP) — Niagara University plans a new center focused on race and equality.

The private western New York college announced plans for the Rose Bente Lee Ostapenko Center on Friday.

University administrators say the new center will integrate issues of race and equality into the learning environment at Niagara and cultivate exchange among faculty and students. It also will generate faculty and student research on race, equity and poverty and provide a forum for conferences and speakers.

The center is named for a former clothing designer who left part of her estate to Niagara when she died in 2014.

More From WIBX 950