Contact Information
E: mec@austin.utexas.edu
P: (512) 232-2958
Mailing Address
Multicultural Engagement Center
The University of Texas at Austin
2201 Speedway, WCP 1.102 Stop A5600
Austin, TX, 78712
Location and Operating Hours
Student Activity Center, Suite SAC 1.102 (campus map) (Austin map)
Monday-Friday, 8 a.m. – 5 p.m. and by appointment
Staff
Brandelyn Franks Flunder, Director
brandelyn_franks@austin.utexas.edu
Brandelyn graduated from UT in 2007 with a Bachelor of Arts in History and again in 2013 with a Master of Education from the Program in Higher Education Leadership with a focus in College and University Student Personnel Administration. Specific interests within higher education and student affairs includes college access, drop-out prevention, pre-college youth growth and development, and the funding of higher education. In her limited spare time, she enjoys spending lazy Saturday mornings with her favorite three guys: her husband Travis and sons Tashun, Trenton, Tristan and Tylen, planning parties for relatives, reading for pleasure, and dreaming of ways to make her mark on the world. “Above all, be true to yourself, and if you cannot put your heart in it, take yourself out of it.”
Malik Crowder, Assistant Director
mcrowder@austin.utexas.edu
Malik serves as an Assistant Director for the Multicultural Engagement Center. He first arrived at UT-Austin in 2003 as a supervisor for Jester West Residence Hall, and later supervised Jester East Hall working with students and student athletes. He was the first academic advisor for the new African and African Diaspora Studies Department in the College of Liberal Arts. He also served as a mentor to the Longhorn football team. As the Senior Academic Advisor in UGS, he helped launch an Academic Success Program, Discovery Scholars, that helps undeclared UT-Austin students navigate the campus and to find their college and major. He received his Master of Science degree from Abilene Christian University in Human Development. Malik is married to Sharon Crowder, a teacher in the Austin Independent School District.
Krysta Chacon, Assistant Director
krysta.chacon@austin.utexas.edu
Krysta graduated from Colorado State University with a Bachelor’s degree in Social Work. She received her Master’s degree in Higher Education Leadership and Policy from the University of Texas. She is an Assistant Director in the MEC and also serves as the outreach coordinator. Before joining the team, she worked at the McCombs School of Business, where she managed large scale events and coordinated a scholarship/mentoring program for underrepresented accounting students. She also worked as a Senior Administrative Associate for the Vice President for Diversity and Community Engagement and the Communications and External Relations team within DDCE. Her interests are higher education attainment and retention, college access and affordability and student engagement/support. She enjoys spending time with family, dancing to anything with a beat, and crafting/DIY/crocheting.
Ariane Stier, Program Coordinator
ariane.stier@austin.utexas.edu
Ariane is a Program Coordinator in the Multicultural Engagement Center. She is from Houston, Texas, and graduated from the University of Texas at Austin in 2020 with a B.A. in Theatre & Dance and B.S. in Public Relations. Her thesis project, centered on Latina representation and empowerment, won the Senior Thesis Award in the Latino Media Arts & Studies Awards at the Moody College of Communication. Before joining the MEC team, she worked in the nonprofit sector at the organization Latinitas, where she managed programs for young girls of color and helped create positive and welcoming spaces for underrepresented students to express who they are. Her interests include BIPOC and women’s empowerment, student support, and community building and engagement. Ariane enjoys relaxing in nature, cooking, and listening to music or a good podcast.