A plan to strengthen minority enrollment at the University of Colorado pledges to increase scholarship awards and funding for diversity programs. It would also require diversity training for top administrators and all students beginning in the fall.
The plan, as outlined by CU-Boulder interim chancellor Phil DiStefano, is a response to recommendations from a 60-member commission that reviewed the university’s enrollment and retention of minority students.
“They got the essence of what we talked about,” said the Rev. Paul Burleson, a panel member. “If they trigger and implement this, I see great things.”
The panel drafted a report on its findings in February.
DiStefano’s letter was sent to CU president Hank Brown and commission members.
Brown said the plan would be finalized with the commission this summer and could be implemented this fall.
DiStefano’s letter said that the campus will not lower admission standards but that increased efforts on precollegiate outreach and more scholarships should increase the number of minority students on campus.
Brown said private donations would be used to pay for the scholarships. He said CU has raised $2.4 million for that effort in the past four months.
Only 272 black and 1,062 Latino high school graduates were admitted to a state four-year university in 2004 and had the score to get into CU-Boulder, according to a university report. That compares with 10,578 qualified white students admitted to a four-year school out of 33,381 high school graduates.
Burleson said that DiStefano’s plan is a great start but that it’s essential to keep in mind standardized tests and grades will reflect a poor student’s learning opportunity.
“Gifted children, when their stomachs are growling, can’t hear what the teacher is saying,” Burleson said.
Panel member Jessica Peck Corry did not agree with most actions outlined in the plan and said the commission did not have enough time to adequately analyze the situation at CU.
Other components of the plan include increased support for K-12 summer outreach programs to reach more students of color, and partnering with the city of Boulder in improving the climate for diversity.
“I’m very optimistic that significant change can be made,” DiStefano said. “But the university can’t make change happen all by itself. We need help from the greater community to fully succeed.”
Staff writer Julianne Bentley can be reached at jbentley@denverpost.com.
