A candidate for the post of associate vice president of student affairs said he thinks NIU would benefit from the establishment of an office of human relations.

Michael Cuyjet, the University of Maryland’s Director of Campus Activities, said Thursday an office of human relations is an idea he would like to see tried out at NIU.

Cuyjet spoke at an open meeting for students at the Holmes Student Center.

The meeting was not attended by any NIU students.

Cuyjet said a human relations office would “help set the tone for the diversity issue (in lifestyles and races) here.”

The office could be important as a liaison between groups and to be “interventive in potentially critical situations,” he said.

The office could be a department of student affairs, but would be more effective if it were a branch of the president’s office, Cuyjet said.

Cuyjet held a variety of positions at NIU before leaving in 1986 to work at the University of Maryland.

He was the NIU Director of University Programming and activities from 1981 to 1986 and the administrative associate to the Student Affairs vice president for about two years.

“Going (to the University of Maryland) has been helpful, giving me the opportunity to see how programs work on another campus,” he said. He added that his broad knowledge of NIU and his exposure to programming at another campus gives him the best of both worlds in terms of experience.

Cuyjet said he sees the associate vice president’s role as an extension of the vice president’s job.

He said another major thrust of the position is to give appropriate support to other departments in terms of resources and creative problem solving.

Cuyjet’s educational background includes a bachelor’s degree in speech communications from Bradley University in Peoria, a master’s degree in counseling and a doctorate in counselor education from NIU.