St. Thomas launched its most recent installment of the 2025 Strategic Plan on Feb. 2: the Truth, Racial Healing and Transformation Campus Center.

Kha Yang, associate vice president for inclusive excellence in the Office for Diversity, Equity and Inclusion, said the TRHT campus center focuses on the Strategic Plan’s pillar of fostering belonging and dismantling racism.

“The center will help amplify the community building toward that culture of inclusion on campus,” Yang said.

At the heart of this project is Alex Hernandez-Siegel, director of Student Diversity and Inclusion Services. Hernandez-Siegel started the THRT center’s process by forming an exploratory committee in the summer of 2020.

Hernandez-Siegel has since led the project to its official launch in February. He says he intentionally left the TRHT center’s goals somewhat open-ended so it can adapt.

“Student needs continue to change how we address diversity, equity and inclusion,” Hernandez-Siegel said.

The TRHT center is comparable to a new department at St. Thomas, rather than a physical place on campus. However, the possibility of an expanding campus in the near future could provide an opportunity to create a physical home for this program.

“It was of more priority to us to have a structure in place,” Hernandez-Siegel said. “Maybe we will think of a space down the road.”

The TRHT center serves as the central hub of racial equity-related work on campus. One of the key components of the center is fostering engagement and discussion.

“We wanted to create a space where everyone can see themselves reflected and have brave and authentic dialogues,” Yang said.

Resources provided at the TRHT center include counseling services, racial healing and diverse group gathering circles. These resources are intended to be available to everyone on campus.

“Students, staff, faculty and administration can tap into these resources and work through something race-related,” Yang said.

However, these resources are not new to campus. The role of the TRHT center is to centralize these services and make them more available.

“The center will help to amplify what’s already existing,” Yang said. “There’s more opportunity to advance it and amplify it to the next level.”

St. Thomas’ center is part of a nationwide network of 50 TRHT centers on college campuses across the United States.

TRHT centers are a collaborative effort between higher education institutions and the American Association of Colleges and Universities designed to break down systematic racism.

Each center varies in themes and direction based on each university’s needs. The TRHT center at St. Thomas will work to advance the goal of dismantling racism.

“A lot of this is dismantling a system that only works for one group of people,” Hernandez-Siegel said.

The growth and longevity of TRHT centers are heavily dependent upon funding. St. Thomas received $400,000 from the GHR Foundation to fund the new center.

“It costs money to run these things,” Hernandez-Siegel said. “They depend on how people can raise money to continue them.”

Hernandez-Siegel hopes the TRHT center will inspire a more inclusive community on campus for students of all backgrounds and experiences.

“The center is a symbol of inclusion and belonging,” Hernandez-Siegel said. “I want it to be setting an example of what inclusion really means.”

Derek Badger can be reached at badg7629@stthomas.edu.