Hamilton College Opens Diversity Awareness Center

Clinton, NY (WIBX) - A center to support its diverse student population has opened on the campus of Hamilton College today, honoring Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

The Days-Massolo Center will promote diversity awareness and foster dialogue among the increasing number of cultures on the campus.

Hamilton College President Joan Hinde Stewart says the college is changing just as society is and by establishing the Days-Massolo Center, it's one way the college is "responding to an increasingly diverse student body."

The new center is named after two college trustees, Drew Days III and Arthur Massolo.

Days graduated from Hamilton in 1963 and moved on to join the legal staff at the NAACP Legal Defense and Education Fund in 1969,  and in 1977, he was appointed U.S. Assistant Attorney General for Civil Rights by President Jimmy Carter. He also served as a Solicitor General of the U.S. in the Clinton Administration Justice Department from 1993 to 1996. Days first served as a member of the Hamilton Board of Trustees in 1986.

Massolo graduated from Hamilton in 1964 and worked at the First National Bank of Chicago, started a consulting company specializing in international strategic planning and served as president of LINK, a mentoring program that provides at-risk inner-city student with private school educations. Massolo has served Hamilton as a Reunion Gift Committee Member, Alumni Association officer, Career Center volunteer and Major Gifts Committee member.

Although the center opened on Monday, the college will officially dedicate the building in April during its annual Volunteer Weekend.