Resource Center for BIPOC Students to be Named for Mamadou N’Diaye

New NVU Campus Resource Center for BIPOC Students to Be Named after NVU-Johnson Student Mamadou N’Diaye

A new resource center for BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, and People of Color) students on the Northern Vermont University Johnson Campus will be named in honor of NVU-Johnson student Mamadou N’Diaye who passed away in July of 2020.

The Coalition of Minority Students at Northern Vermont University’s Johnson campus, in collaboration with the Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Committee and the Student Government Association, is hosting a celebration of Mamadou N’Diaye’s life in conjunction with the naming of this new dedicated space in Dewey Hall (Room 149) as the Mamadou N’Diaye Resource Center on Tuesday, March 15 from noon to 1 p.m.

“I am so pleased we are naming the Resource Center after such an outstanding young man, and the care that went into creating it has been exemplary,” said Interim President John W. Mills. “The creation of this space is also a statement by NVU of our commitment to the Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) pledge we have made in our Mission Statement.”

Mamadou N’Diaye, from Prince George, Maryland, was 19 years old and a rising sophomore pursuing a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Media Arts on the Johnson campus. He also played basketball for the Badgers. “He was an outstanding and kind young man, a talented artist, skilled athlete, and a good friend. Mamadou made a lasting impression at NVU where he touched the community with his warm heart, tenacious work ethic, and overall drive,” said Former NVU President Elaine C. Collins in a message to the NVU community in 2020.The Mamadou N’Diaye Resource Center is an academic and mental health resource space created by the Coalition of Minority Students (COMS) for the benefit of BIPOC students at NVU-Johnson. The room will serve as a haven for COMS members and as a center to host events open to students, faculty, staff, and community members to educate themselves with COMS members on Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion principals.

The room will also serve as a space for mental health assistance with comfortable seating and computer access to telehealth therapy. NVU students have chosen specific art and media to encourage stress relief and self-help.