The Crimson White Revisits AIM Investigation as Alabama Closes Intercultural Center
August 26, 2026
University quietly closes Intercultural Center
Max Krzeminski, Managing Editor | August 26, 2026
The University silently closed the Intercultural Center over the summer. The center, which was located in room 2100 of the Student Center, is now referred to as the “REAL Tide Engagement Commons.”
The Intercultural Center, originally the Intercultural Diversity Center, opened in 2016 at the Riverside Community Center. David Grady, then vice president of student affairs, said the opening of the center “ensures UA has successful students in a multicultural world.” The space later moved to the Student Center in Oct. 2020.
The website for the Intercultural Center has not been taken down; however, the Division of Opportunities, Connection and Success website link has been removed and the phone number listed for the center has been disconnected.
“As announced over the summer, some programs from the former divisions of Community Affairs and Opportunities, Connections, and Success were reassigned to divisions where they best align,” said Alex House, a spokesperson for the University. “Programs in the Student Center, including the operation of the REAL Tide Engagement Commons, were moved to the Division of Student Life to expand student engagement and programming.”
The space was able to use the Intercultural Diversity Center name until the shuttering of the Division of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion in summer 2024, when it then became just the Intercultural Center.
House said that employees who worked with the Intercultural Center “transitioned to other available roles on campus or voluntarily left the University.”