Diversity on decline across college campuses

By: Timothy Fenster

Posted: 2/3/10

Despite government policies to promote equal educational opportunities for persons of different races, nationalities and household incomes, the entering and graduating classes at many of the nation's top universities are not as diverse as the state's population which they represent and serve.

An Education Trust report shows the majority of students at many of these campuses are wealthy and white individuals.

The report showed a lack of diversity was mainly a problem for major state universities, often called Flagship universities. The report found that in 2007, only 13 percent of students entering flagship universities were black, Latino or Native American. That same year, the report found that 29 percent of all students graduating high school were nonwhite and 30 percent enrolling in all colleges and universities were nonwhite.

The College at Brockport is committed to recruiting students, faculty and staff that mirror the diversity seen in a global society, according to Brockport's Diversity Committee. Most students interviewed said Brockport has a racially and ethnically diverse student body.

To ensure equality and diversity, Brockport has appointed a Diversity Committee, consisting of 14 to 16 members and headed by Joel L. Frater, Assistant to the Provost for Diversity. One of the committee's responsibilities is to assist with the implementation of the Strategic Plan for Diversity, approved fall 2007.

The plan, implemented in fall of 2008, is a three-goal strategy.

The first goal is to increase and enhance student diversity at the college. One of the objectives is to increase the enrollment of students representing minority groups to more than 12 percent. The second goal is to develop college-wide programs and activities to support the college's diversity mission.

"There aren't very many culturally diverse clubs," Elizabeth Lara, a student, said.

The final goal is to increase the diversity of the faculty and staff.

"It seems like there's quite a range of ethnic groups in the faculty," Brockport student Maria Cook said. "Students with economic problems or who come from urban backgrounds don't usually go to four-year schools," a student, Trisha, said. "Students with those backgrounds usually go to two-year schools."

These numbers represent an improvement in student diversity. In 2004, the report found 27 percent of high school graduates were non-white, while 12 percent of students enrolled in flagship universities and 28 percent of students entering all colleges and universities were nonwhite.

The Universities of Florida, Maine, Utah and West Virginia had the highest marks for their current diversity and improvement between 2004-05 and 2007-08. The universities of Georgia and Mississippi currently have the lowest amount of diversity of the flagship universities examined in the report. The Universities of Michigan, Wyoming, Vermont and Indiana University Bloomington all showed very low rates of improving diversity in their student population.

The State University of Buffalo and the University of Oregon both narrowed their graduation-rate gaps between white and minority students.

"Schools in America are too expensive, at least state universities are," Trisha said. "If there was more money available to students then education could be affordable for everybody."

For students wanting to know more about Brockport's Strategic Plan For Diversity can view the entire plan at http://www.brockport.edu/diversity/.