Trustees hope to increase minority role models at U.

Members of the University's Board of Trustees discussed the need for minority role models at the University in a joint meeting of the Student Life and University Responsibility Committees last Thursday. Increasing the presence of minority role models -- such as professors -- is a primary factor in attracting a larger portion of the the historically small minority applicant pool, Board members said. In an effort to combat the problem, Roy Vagelos, the chairperson of the Board of Trustees, proposed a plan to cultivate minority role models. He said his plan was based on his experience as the former CEO of the pharmaceutical company Merck & Co. Vagelos advocated recruiting minority students to the University's undergraduate program, then "dragging" them through the University's graduate schools and encouraging them to stay with the University as faculty members. He also emphasized the need to keep minority professors on the University's staff. "Outplacement interviews have been suggested by administrators to evaluate how minorities felt about the University," he said. Other trustees agreed with Vagelos. "The number of minorities is few," said Trustee Ed Anderson. "And for the handful of minorities, an environment which provides people they can relate to is now more comfortable." Minorities are choosing schools in which the majority of students are minorities, Anderson added. According to Susan Catherwood, a vice-chairperson of the Board of Trustees, the University is actively recruiting minorities by offering financial aid, as well as tutoring. "Even though we are need blind, we have specific packages," she said. Despite an aggressive recruitment program to attract black students, there was a four percent decrease in their applications for undergraduate admission this year, according to Admissions Dean Lee Stetson. However, there was a 10 percent increase in the number of Hispanic applicants, and a one percent increase in the amount of Asians applying to the University.

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