The Bunche Center was established as an Organized Research Unit (ORU), with the mission to develop and strengthen African American Studies through five primary organizational branches: research, academic programs, library and media center, special projects, and publications.
The Center supports research that (1) expands the knowledge of the history, lifestyles, and sociocultural systems of people of African descent and (2) investigates problems that have bearing on the psychological, social, and economic well being of persons of African descent. Research sponsored and conducted by the Bunche Center is multidisciplinary in scope and spans the humanities, social sciences, fine arts, and several professional schools.
The Center also administers three competitive scholarship programs–the Julian “Cannonball” Adderley Memorial Scholarship, the John Densmore Scholarship, and the Roxanne Chisholm and Jeanette Chisolm Moore Endowed Scholarship–that fund students majoring in Afro-American Studies and other disciplines.