About the Paul Robeson Cultural Center | Penn State Student Affairs

About Us

The Paul Robeson Cultural Center hosts a variety of cultural programs and activities that you won't want to miss. The center also houses the Robeson Gallery, student study spaces, and a variety of rentable facilities.

In 1972, Penn State Students established a cultural center on the University Park campus. Read more about the history of the Paul Robeson Cultural Center.

Vision

Embracing ethnic, racial, cultural, and other diversity of humanity is an ethical and practical necessity for the Paul Robeson Cultural Center at The Pennsylvania State University. We define culture as:

A system of shared beliefs, values, customs, behaviors, and artifacts that members of society use to cope with their world and with one another, and that are transmitted from generation to generation through learning. Culture includes all of the things a group as a whole thinks, believes, and does. To study a group’s culture is to study its art, literature, religion, philosophy, sports, clothing, politics, customs, histories, and habits.

We shall present and promote programs that enhance the overall educational experience of students, faculty and staff, and that encourages appreciation for a pluralistic society. We will provide learning opportunities for The Pennsylvania State University community that recognize in society, others, and themselves, the various guises and levels of racism, sexism, and other scourges that foster division and impose a continuation of inequality. Finally, the Paul Robeson Cultural Center shall be a campus destination where all visitors find welcoming, comfortable and functional facilities, engaging visual displays, and the opportunity to explore and to engage in dialogue and/or study of issues related to culture including: diversity, leadership, racial identity development and community development.

Statement of Purpose:

The Paul Robeson Cultural Center at Penn State seeks to make true the mission of the institution by serving students in the development of character, conscience, and social responsibility through fostering identity development, social justice, and inclusion.

The Paul Robeson Cultural Center is committed to creating institutional programs that are driven by the Vision and Statement of Purpose in the following areas.