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James Duah-Agyeman

Director of Office of Multicultural Affairs creates "home away from home" for students of color

By Jacob PramukStaff Writer
Photo by Drew Osumi Staff Photographer

James Duah-Agyeman’s office is tucked back in the Syracuse University Office of Multicultural Affairs, a few turns down a hallway from the office’s main entrance and reception desk. Working from that location sometimes leaves him farther away from the bustle of Schine Student Center than he’d like.

Attempting to stay near student traffic, he likes to take his lunch to OMA’s lobby or the ground floor of Schine, where he banters with students about grades and campus life. For the director of SU’s Office of Multicultural Affairs, work revolves around maintaining personal relationships with the students he helps.

“It’s about student academic success, it’s about students’ personal achievement. It’s about students, students, students,” Duah-Agyeman said.

Since becoming director of OMA in 2001, Duah-Agyeman, or “Dr. D,” as many call him, has expanded a program he calls a “home away from home” for SU students who self-identify as students of color. As a leader who helps them deal with issues of diversity and inclusion on campus, Duah-Agyeman has shown genuine concern and accessibility that have helped move OMA forward and make college life easier for a variety of students.

“The time and passion and care that he provides makes a huge difference,” said Rebecca Reed Kantrowitz, SU’s interim senior vice president and dean of student affairs.



When Duah-Agyeman became OMA’s director in 2001, one staff member worked with him. Staff shared one phone that they would pass around when someone else needed to talk. Now, OMA employs about eight people and supports a variety of programs.

The office has expanded its outreach and services through programs like WellsLink, a two-semester leadership program for students from traditionally underrepresented racial groups, the Conversations about Race and Ethnicity dialogue program and “Healing the Scars,” a forum held on diversity in 2013, among many others.

He has also used his personal touch to connect diverse pockets of the SU community and help students become successful despite racial boundaries.

Duah-Agyeman, an Ashanti Ghanaian, faced systemic racial expectations when he came to SU to pursue a doctorate in mathematics education in 1982. He remembers a conversation in the U.S. where he identified himself as black, rather than Ashanti, holding back a prominent piece of his identity.

He has drawn on the experience of American society expecting him to cast himself in a particular light to encourage students to promote their own identity.

“I’ve always talked about being able to represent who you are and not letting the system force you to do something else,” Duah-Agyeman said.

Aysha Seedat, a sophomore policy studies major, participated in the WellsLink program her freshman year and currently works as an intern at OMA. Seedat, who was born in Manhattan and was “raised eating cheeseburgers,” self-identifies as Asian or Pakistani.

When an SU Career Services employee revising her resume told her to include that she was a United States citizen because an employer may look at her and think she lives in the U.S. illegally, Seedat was taken aback. She sought out Duah-Agyeman for guidance.

Duah-Agyeman dropped what he was doing and walked with her back to Career Services, where they decided not to include that Seedat is a citizen.

“He knows that students are having problems, he knows they’re freaking out,” Seedat said. “And he will make time for you that day.”

She added that Duah-Agyeman’s demeanor, along with a booming laugh that carries throughout the office, can provide a calming, fatherly reassurance students need at their lowest moments.

Kantrowitz said students are comfortable with going to OMA and Duah-Agyeman when they have issues at SU. She remembers a summer about three years ago when her office in Steele Hall became unusable due to repairs and she worked in the OMA space for weeks.

She marveled at the number of students who, in the middle of the summer, “plopped themselves down” in OMA to share stories and concerns.

“He is someone who cares deeply about students,” Kantrowtiz said.

Duah-Agyeman said that SU students have faced new obstacles as diversity increased under former Chancellor Nancy Cantor. Increasing diversity “transported issues of color into a small world,” he said.

But he sees it as a new opportunity to increase “integration, acceptance and appreciation.” Students talk about incidental segregation, he said, and Duah-Agyeman continues to encourage students to bridge gaps between their groups.

Duah-Agyeman wants to help students succeed at SU. And gestures, even one as small as welcoming a student into OMA as he eats his lunch, can help move the university forward.

“I’m hoping right now people realize that the world means well, but it’s going to take all of us together to make this place the respectable, acceptable and most appreciative place,” Duah-Agyeman said. “An inclusive place, a place that accepts diversity in all its forms for all of us to really celebrate who we are and where we go — Syracuse University.”