The University of Colorado Boulder is matching $1 million in private funding for the new Center for African and African American Studies, which held its grand opening on the first day of Black History Month.

Chancellor Philip P. Distefano intends for the funds — a five-year match — to support the center’s growth, and said it is the first center of its kind at a public university in the state, according to a university news release.

The center’s founding director, Reiland Rabaka, said “a dream long-dreamed has materialized and become reality” through the center’s launch, also called “the Cause.”

New History Colorado series aims to educate on Black history, foster conversations

Rabaka, an ethnic studies professor, said the center will be a “focal point for campus and community life grounded in, and growing out of, the historical, cultural, spiritual, sociopolitical, economic and artistic experiences of Africans, African Americans and the African diaspora,” according to a news release.

The center will support interdisciplinary teaching, research and creative work, Rabaka said, and increase public awareness of CAAAS’ work to foster understanding of the experiences had by people of African descent.

In video remarks at the grand opening, Gov. Jared Polis said the center will be “a hub for teaching, research, creative work and important dialogue that won’t just strengthen our students and this campus, but will better the entire Boulder community, as well as the state of Colorado.”