About Us
A Message From the Director
As Director of The Ohio State University’s Department of African American and African Studies Community Extension Center (CEC), I follow in the footsteps of those who made this unique institution possible. The brainchild of Dr. William E. Nelson, Jr., of The Ohio State University, and a renowned expert in African American Politics, the Center was physically established (founded) in 1972 to serve as the department’s outreach component to the urban community in Columbus. Situated in the heart of one of the Midwest’s most storied Black communities, the Center has stood at 905 Mount Vernon Avenue since the spring of 1985. A community with a rich cultural and musical tradition, Mount Vernon Ave. once played host to some of the most prominent jazz greats of the 20th century.The Center is located on the COTA bus line and is only a 10-minute drive from the OSU campus. The Center’s primary mission is and has always been to increase the life chances of Columbus’ Black Community. Since its founding, the Center has extended the university’s human and intellectual capital to Ohioans of all races and ethnicities in an effort to enhance the cultural, educational, social and political dimensions of their lives.
The CEC sponsors and/or co-sponsors an array of activities designed to enrich the lives of pre-teens, teenagers, adults as well as seniors. For the past few years the Center has hosted a health fair in the fall and a conference on the History of Black Columbus in the spring. It also sponsors a math and science program, offers computer literacy classes and has expanded it credit and non-credit academic course offerings to name a few. These will continue to create exciting opportunities for area residents, students and the OSU community. The Center does this by serving as a liaison between OSU and Columbus’ urban communities; by fostering greater interaction between the city’s inner city residents and the university; and by partnering with university faculty, staff, and students to provide opportunities in teaching and education, outreach and engagement, and research. The Center is poised to expand its activities in an effort to offer increased opportunities for recently burgeoning communities and therefore, the development and expansion of the Centers’ programs are indeed central to the goals of the Community Extension Center.
Now in its thirty-fourth year of operation, we have maintained our commitment to serve Columbus’ inner city residents. As we march on, we look forward to partnering with organizations and individuals from both the private and public sectors, who are interested in creating and developing programs that cultivate an educated, productive and socially responsible citizenry. Toward that end, this year, we are excited about launching the Ray Miller Institute for Change and Leadership, a 10-week course that will begin on October 9, 2006, and that we expect to become a hallmark of the Center for years to come.
I encourage you to enroll in our classes, participate in our offerings, partner with us, schedule your meetings at our facility or schedule a visit to the Center. I look forward to your enthusiastic support as we move forward into the new millennium.
