Program Coordinator of the Black Cultural Center

Berea College; Berea (KY); On-site; USD 52,000 - 68,000; Full time

Job summary

Berea College invites applications for a Program Coordinator at the Black Cultural Center. Reporting to the Director, this role plans, implements, facilitates, and evaluates programs for Black, African, and African American students, linking instruction with wraparound student support to improve retention and success.

The position oversees Work College integration, mentors students, coordinates events like the monthly Kula Kusoma, teaches courses in AFR 100, advises students, and collaborates

Qualifications

• Master's degree in Black/African American Studies, History, Culture, or related field.
• Experience planning and evaluating social, educational, and developmental programs.
• Direct work with students in a multicultural or diversity-focused setting.
• Strong written and oral communication with demonstrated leadership.

Responsibilities

• Plan, implement, facilitate, execute, and evaluate programs for Black students.
• Embed learning outcomes into Work-Learning-Service experiences for students.
• Supervise and mentor students in Berea College's Work College Program.
• Coordinate events, advising, and academic support in collaboration with center leadership.
• Manage budgets, marketing, outreach, and assessment reporting for center programs.
• Lead onboarding and training for BCC student leaders and organizations.

Skills

Communication skills

Administration

Organizational skills

Program design & delivery

Multicultural understanding

Mentoring & supervision

Education

Master's degree in Black/African American Studies or related field

Job description

Description

Reporting to the Director of the Black Cultural Center (BCC), the Program Coordinator is responsible for planning, implementing, facilitating, executing, and evaluating social, education, and developmental programs for the BCC. This position is uniquely positioned to pair academic instruction and advising with intrusive wraparound student support services that will improve retention, persistence, and completion for Black, African, and African American students at Berea College. The Program Coordinator will also work directly with the Assistant Director to ensure that Center programs and events align with leadership initiatives and the Work-Learning-Service (WLS) student team to embed targeted learning outcomes into the student work experience, preparing students to make positive contributions to the campus community and beyond.

Following long-standing tradition and practice at Berea College, this position includes responsibility for supervising, mentoring, and developing students in the College's integrated Work College Program. This supports student learning, career readiness, and the program's learning goals and outcomes. The Work College Program provides a developmental framework that guides student learning while creating a structured mentorship opportunity, with role-specific training that equips faculty and staff mentors to support student development. Faculty and staff mentors play an essential part in helping students connect their work-learning-service experiences with broader academic, professional, and personal development. For faculty, this aligns with Berea's tenure and promotion criteria.

Your Key Responsibilities

• Program Coordination & Event Management – 30%
• Plan, implement, facilitate, execute, and evaluate programs and events to ensure Black students have appropriate access to new knowledge, supportive resources, community building, and other targeted outcomes.
• Ensure that programs are communicated internally and externally through appropriate marketing channels, providing equitable engagement for all Black Cultural Center programs, initiatives, and events.
• Embed learning outcomes directly into the WLS student work experience, creating opportunities for Black students to gain hands-on experience with event coordination and planning.
• Create a programming calendar each academic year, ensuring equitable access for students to engage with BCC programs and initiatives.
• Plan and facilitate a monthly Kula Kusoma event, providing students with the opportunity to engage with Berea alumni through meaningful dialogue and relevant topics of discussion.

• Advising, Teaching, and Lesson Planning – 20%
• Teach a minimum of two courses per Academic Year (Fall/Spring), including but not limited to AFR 100: Models & Mentors for Success, in collaboration with the African and African American Studies department.
• Serve as an Academic Advisor to a student caseload in collaboration with The NEST (Navigating Engagement, Success, and Transition): Student Success Central.

• Student Engagement & Support – 20%
• Facilitate “The Collective,” a monthly discussion group for Black students, creating intentional spaces for students to bridge gaps amongst the diaspora, providing opportunities for students to engage in conversations while maintaining a safe, productive learning environment.
• Engage and collaborate with the African Student Association (ASA), Black Student Union (BSU), and other Recognized Student Organizations (RSOs) through programmatic efforts and intentional collaboration.
• Serve and support students participating in BME, including Black students, Latinx students, Appalachian and Non-Appalachian White students, LGBTQIA+ students, and others who find community through the ensemble.
• Assist the Director and Assistant Director with leading onboarding and training sessions for BCC student leaders, including WLS student team members, Registered Student Organizations, and others, as assigned.

• Administrative Operations – 10%
• Assist the Director in managing the Center budget, spaces, and resources, particularly as it pertains to the programming budget allocated to educational experiences, cultural competencies, and initiative specific priorities.

• Marketing & Outreach – 10%
• Serve on campus-wide committees, as assigned, to broaden the involvement and advocacy for the Black Cultural Center and the Black student experience.

• Assessment & Reporting – 5%
• Assess effectiveness of assigned programs and services through comprehensive data reporting to track engagement, retention, and academic outcomes

• Departmental and Divisional Projects – 5%
• Complete all duties as assigned by the Director, Assistant Director, Associate Vice President or Vice President

What You\'ll Bring

• Education required to ensure success in this position:
• A master\'s degree in Black/African American Studies, History, Culture, or a related field with an emphasis on people, culture, and community engagement.

• Experience required to ensure success in this position:
• 2-3 years of primary leadership experience in an education setting, preferably higher education, working directly with students in a multicultural or diversity affairs-related position.
• Direct experience in program coordination and student support, especially for students of color

• Special Skills, knowledge and abilities:
• Exemplary oral and written communication skills.
• Strong administrative and organizational skills.
• Ability to facilitate, delegate, and create a vision and processes to be implemented with targeted outcomes
• Thorough familiarity with theory, research, and practice in student engagement and success, and in multicultural understanding, especially as focused on race and interracial understanding.
• Ability to design and implement meaningful and high-quality co-curricular programs for students.
• Deep personal commitment to multicultural understanding.

• License, certification, or registration necessary:
• Valid driver\'s license preferred.
• Required background checks

• Physical Requirements:
• Ability to navigate campus/public buildings and grounds
• Ability to travel independently by car and/or plane
• Ability to occasionally lift up to 20 lbs.

• Environmental conditions:
• Professional office environment with interruptions and noise due to frequent visitors, students, staff and faculty
• Occasional travel is required for meetings, conferences, etc.

• Ability to operate the following vehicles or equipment:
• Standard office equipment: computer, fax, phone, etc.
• Media equipment
• College-operated cars, minivans, or 12/15-passenger vans

Founded in 1855, Berea College is nationally recognized as the first coeducational and interracial college in the South. Berea has a longstanding commitment to interracial education and is one of the most racially diverse private liberal arts colleges in the United States. With an emphasis on service to Appalachia and beyond, Berea enrolls more than 1,500 students from 46 states and U.S. territories and more than 70 countries. Berea College admits students who are unable to afford tuition and provides all of them with a no-tuition promise. Berea’s students excel in the College’s supportive yet demanding academic environment, and most are the first in their families to attend college. As one of only ten federally recognized Work Colleges, all Berea students are expected to work 10-12 hours weekly in various positions across campus. Berea College is also the only institution in Kentucky to receive the 5-Star Rating from Money Magazine, 2025. Washington Monthly has named Berea College the #1 Best College in the nation in its 2025 College Guide. Berea College appears in their rankings as #1 College (overall): Best College for your Tuition (and Tax) Dollars, #1 Best-in Class College, #1 Liberal Arts College and #1 Best Bang for the Buck Southern College.

Located where the Bluegrass Region meets the Cumberland Mountains, the town of Berea (pop. 16,000) lies forty miles south of Lexington and is approximately two hours from Cincinnati, Louisville, and Knoxville. More information about Berea College is available at www.berea.edu.

Berea College, in light of its mission in the tradition of impartial love and social equality, welcomes all people of the earth to learn and work here. Berea College is an Equal Opportunity Employer that recruits and hires qualified candidates without regard to race, religion, sex, sexual orientation, age, national origin, ancestry, citizenship, disability, or veteran status.

Our Benefits

Berea College offers a comprehensive benefits package to eligible employees and their families including health care, dental, vision, retirement, health savings accounts, flexible spending accounts, life insurance, short-term disability, long-term disability and an Employee Assistance Program. The benefit package also includes access to the Child Development Laboratory for children of College Staff, ages 6 weeks to 6 years, Seabury Center Membership, Staff Development Funds and Tuition Reimbursement.

Eligible staff employees also receive paid holidays, vacation, and sick leave.

Part-time employees who work an average of twenty-four hours per week over the course of a year, receive benefits on a pro-rated basis.

To learn more details, visit our benefits page at https://www.berea.edu/human-resources/employee-benefits.

Our Unique Culture

Berea College strives to be a place where people with various Christian interpretations, different religious traditions, and no religious traditions work together in support of Berea\'s Great Commitments. Over the past century, various leaders of the College have applied the College\'s inclusive scriptural foundation and spirit to their expanding world and welcomed those whose beliefs were consistent with the Christian gospel of impartial love. Therefore, Berea College today affirms its inclusive Christian tradition even as it respects the traditions of Jews, Muslims, Buddhists, and Hindus, as well as other faiths, and those holding no religious beliefs. We strive not to ignore our differences, but rather seek to understand each other honestly and respectfully, and together create a climate where anyone can openly discuss what they believe without fear of sanction. To that end, all persons who are willing to share in the spirit and the work of the Great Commitments as shaped by its preamble are welcome to study, to teach, and to work at Berea

Labor Supervision

In support of Berea College’s great commitments, staff and faculty serve as labor supervisors. Our fourth great commitment, The Dignity of Labor, promotes learning and serving in community through the student Labor Program, honoring the dignity and utility of all work, mental and manual, and taking pride in work well done. Student Labor Supervision includes scheduling, assigning, and approving student work, developing students\' workplace acumen, and providing tangible work experience. To learn more about the labor program office please see the following link Labor Program Office.