TL20070924-01 "www.thetowerlight.com Published by and for the students of Towson and Baltimore -- twice-weekly Monday The Towerlight Sept. 24, 2007 Now on TheTowerlight.com: View additional diversity content, as well as video of this weekend�s Pigskin Pass... Sharon Leff Editor in Chief As Towson�s student body grows and the campus envi-ronment changes, the University is also aiming to change the make-up of the student body. One of the 86 action items included in Towson�s 2010 plan is to �build a strong, targeted diversity outreach effort to help achieve diversity goals in hiring and student recruiting.� As of Fall 2007 Towson enrolled 19,758 students. Eighteen percent of undergraduate students and 17 percent of graduate students are categorized as being a minority. �We�re making progress if you look at the trend over the last couple of years, but we have a way to go,� acting provost James Clements told the University Senate at a meeting earlier this month. Towson President Robert Caret talked about the University�s commitment to diversity at his fall address earlier this month. �Our 2009 goal for minority enroll-ment is 18 percent of the total enrollment. We will surpass the 18 percent this fall. Our African American goal for 2009 is 12 percent. We will achieve the 2009 goal,� Caret said. Lonnie McNew, senior vice president for enrollment management, said the traditional definition of minority students includes African Americans, Asians or Pacific Islanders, Hispanics, and Native Americans. According to the electronic fact pages on Towson�s Web site, full and part-time enrollment numbers are as follows: 13,662 White students, 2,292 African American students, 1,888 other/unknown students, and 748 Asian students enrolled at Towson. There are also 649 foreign students, 450 Hispanic students, and 69 Native American students. But in addition to enrolling students, the University is looking to retain minority students. �In and of themselves if we have improved retention rates of minority students it means we can improve our diversity faster because we don�t have to recruit and enroll students that have left,� McNew said. The six-year graduation rate for African Americans is 64.2 percent and for the entire population the six-year graduation rate is 63.5 percent. �The gap in the graduation rate between African Americans and the total population has all but disap-peared,� McNew said. He said the University practiced affirmative action but it is now illegal to use it for admissions. When they did use affirmative action, it brought in diverse students but retention was a concern. �We were using [affirmative action] wrong. We should have been taking the students with the high grades and the low SATs. But instead, because we didn�t know any better, we were making exceptions to increase diversity. But it didn�t help because the students with low grades didn�t stay,� he said. Comparing TU to peer institutions The University also looks at its peer institutions, a list of University System of Maryland approved colleges across the country, when judging its diversity. McNew said when choosing peer institutions Towson considered size, outreach efforts and percentage of commut-ers. McNew said they also chose schools that are metropolitan uni-versities. Towson�s peer schools include: California State University Fresno, California State University North Ridge, California State University Sacramento, Eastern Illinois University, Montclair State University of North Carolina, University of Charlotte, Texas State University, California State University San Marcos, West Chester University of Pennsylvania, Western Illinois University and Western Kentucky University. The average percentage of undergraduate minority students at the peer institutes is 27.1 percent and Towson�s average is 16.9 percent. However, McNew said the high percentage of Hispanic students in that region skews the average. �With regard to minority students we do extremely well, but some of our peers are from California and they have such a large Hispanic population, we�re not close to them,� McNew said. The six-year graduation rate average for minorities at the peer institutions is 43.7 percent and at Towson it is 50.8 percent. Towson has three goals related to their diversity action plan posted on the University�s Web site. The first part is to develop and promote a respectful campus climate and provide services that appreciate and celebrate differences. The second way is to develop pro-grams and initiatives that promote diversity and inclusion The changing face of campus A breakdown of student and faculty demographics DIVERSITY See FACE, page 11 Turn to page 10 for more stories on campus diversity. Photo Illustration by Matt Laumann, Photos by Patrick Smith/The Towerlight "
