Iowa State’s newly renovated Black Cultural Center will be rededicated at a ceremony today.

Several people will speak at the ceremony, which will begin at 11 a.m., including ISU President Martin Jischke, BCC President Allan Nosworthy and Minority Student Affairs Director Rafael Rodriguez. An open house will follow the ceremony.

The BCC, which is located at 517 Welch Ave., is a private, non-profit organization created in 1969 to promote cross-cultural understanding and provide programs to benefit ISU students and employees, according to a press release.

It provides a place for students and employees to gather and discuss issues of African-American life and culture, hold cultural events and programs and find resources of interest to African Americans, a press release said.

“We have Friday-After-Class discussions and have had poetry readings of black female poets,” said Aaron Davenport, a member of the board of directors and treasurer for the BCC.

“We also hold receptions for the African-American students and faculty so they can get to know who’s who,” he said.

Work on the BCC’s facility has been the focus of a renovation project since last fall, after ISU formalized its relationship with the BCC.

“We are entering a new era for student involvement in the BCC,” said Allan Nosworthy, president of BCC.

About $40,000 was committed to the renovation project by Jischke’s office.

“This is one of a number of diversity initiatives that the president’s office has supported this year,” said John Anderson, interim director of university relations.

Under a new 10-year agreement, the university officially recognized the BCC as an organization affiliated with the university. It also established terms for the university and the center to provide support for each other.

“The reestablishment of the center is a commitment to diversity from the university,” Anderson said.

The agreement rose out of an offer made by university officials last year to help renovate the facility. ISU will also cover the costs of utilities, special property assessments and general liability and casualty insurance for the facility. The ISU Foundation provides assistance in fund-raising endeavors to benefit the center’s operations.

Under the new agreement, the BCC will give special attention to programming that supports the success of African-American students and maintain communication with the African American Studies Program, the director of Minority Student Affairs (MSA), the ISU Black Faculty and Staff Association.

“The BCC had programs for recruitment of African-American students, and we are looking into re-implementing those,” Nosworthy said.

It will also appropriate African-American student organizations and seek the advice and guidance of the director of MSA regarding major changes in the activities of the center, according to a press release.

Center officials have agreed the MSA director will be an ex-officio member of the BCC board.

The BCC and the university will each designate three to four people for a coordinating committee that will meet regularly to discuss programs and operations of the center.

In case of bad weather, the ceremony will be rescheduled for a later date.