During this year’s Founders Day celebration, St. Olaf College celebrated the 50th anniversary of the founding of the Cultural Union for Black Expression (C.U.B.E.).

William Green ’77, a longtime St. Olaf staff member who is now the director of multicultural engagement and community outreach at the North Central University in Minneapolis, returned to the Hill on November 6 to speak during the Founders Day Chapel Service.

C.U.B.E. is an organization that discusses and analyzes the depth of the African American experience. While the group focuses primarily on issues that affect African American communities, it also works to relate these experiences to those of other underrepresented groups. C.U.B.E. organizes events that expand the knowledge of African American history, including February’s Black History Month festivities.

While at St. Olaf — where he served  as the assistant dean of community life and diversity, and director of multicultural affairs and community outreach — Green worked to create an inclusive environment and raise the level of cultural awareness and appreciation for ethnic differences on campus.

In an interview with St. Olaf Magazine 15 years ago, Green described his work with hundreds of St. Olaf students from diverse backgrounds — work that, in many ways, is ongoing today.

“The question that is always in the back of their minds, particularly those who come from strong ethnic neighborhoods, is: Will St. Olaf be a comfortable place for me and will I be successful?” he says. “I tell them that they will be challenged socially at St. Olaf, but over time they form friendships, their sense of purpose grows, and they see their opportunities.”

Watch the Founders Day Chapel Service below: