Minority enrollment shows stagnation since 1970s

Nearly one-third of Penn's undergraduate students are minorities -- about 20 percent are Asian, 6 percent African American and 4 percent Latino, according to the University Registrar. Considering that little more than 30 years ago the minority population at the University barely existed at all, Penn has clearly come a long way since the mid-1960s, when it first began actively recruiting minority students. However, since the 1970s, the numbers of African-American and Latino students on campus have been stagnant. Seven percent of this year's freshman class is African American. In 1969, 8 percent of the freshman class was African American. And this year's entering freshman class was 7 percent Latino, while the group makes up roughly 12 percent of the national population. Initially, Penn's minority recruitment efforts were fairly effective. Between 1965 and 1969, the freshman classes went from being 1 percent African American to 8 percent. And the numbers of Asian-American and Latino students began growing fairly rapidly in the mid-1970s. In the early 1970s, then-Director of Admissions James Nolan stated that the University had the objective of increasing the percentage of black students to match that of the national black population. And while Penn administrators say they remain committed to increasing diversity on campus, little has changed since then. The obvious question, then, is why. A host of factors can be cited to help explain why blacks and Latinos remain underrepresented at Penn. Administrators said that there is just a limited pool of qualified minorities out there and all top schools recruit them. With this situation, Penn's financial aid practices put Penn at a disadvantage. Because Penn offers aid primarily in the form of loans, many minority students choose to attend schools that offer more aid. "As a consequence of this, we lose a lot of qualified... students," History Professor Robert Engs said. In 1996, University President Judith Rodin unveiled a plan allocating $5 million to increase the number of underrepresented minority students and faculty at Penn. A commitment was also made to raise an additional $20 million for this cause; that fundraising is still underway. Officials said some of that funding has gone into scholarships and fellowships, as well as faculty recruitment. But with the five years almost up, the minority student and faculty populations have not significantly changed. Still, while some say Penn's numbers could use a boost, the University falls about in the middle of its peers with regard to minority statistics. In 1997, Ivy League schools had an average of 6.5 percent African-American students and 5.5 percent Latinos in their student populations.

About the series In many ways, Penn is a self-segregated community. Race relations have improved here over the past 30 years, but there are still clearly drawn lines across campus. No one has figured out how to erase them. This semester, The Daily Pennsylvanian sent out a team of reporters to explore different facets of race at Penn. We looked in classrooms, dorms and clubs, trying to get a better understanding of the boundaries that exist between us. We know we don't have all the answers. But we hope that these stories, and the accompanying letters and columns that will appear this week and next on the Editorial Page, will lead to a better understanding among students from different backgrounds.

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