Diversity officers: Outreach, pipeline programs crucial for student recruitment

Correction: The original version of this story included inaccurate information on the percentages of minorities among tenured and tenure-track faculty. The correct information follows, and has been added to the full story below:

At UC Denver, 12 percent of tenured or tenure-track faculty are ethnic minorities. Among all full professors, 9 percent are minorities; among associate professors, 11 percent are minorities; among assistant professors, 16 percent are minorities.

At UCCS, 11 percent of tenured or tenure-track faculty are ethnic minorities. Among all full professors, 9 percent are minorities; among associate professors, 12 percent are minorities; among assistant professors, 13 percent are minorities.

At CU-Boulder, 18 percent of tenured or tenure-track faculty are ethnic minorities. Among all full professors, 12 percent are minorities; among associate professors, 20 percent are minorities; among assistant professors, 26 percent are minorities.

To recruit more of Colorado's gifted students of color and first-generation scholars, the University of Colorado must step up efforts to convince them that they belong at a four-year college, the university's three diversity officers told the CU Board of Regents on Friday, June 25.

Zen Camacho, vice provost and associate vice chancellor of diversity and inclusion at the University of Colorado Denver; Kee Warner, associate vice chancellor for diversity at the University of Colorado at Colorado Springs; and Alphonse Keasley, interim vice chancellor for diversity at the University of Colorado at Boulder, delivered annual diversity reports for the 2009-10 academic year during the regents' regular meeting.

In their presentations to the regents, campus diversity officers and chancellors shared a common theme of expanding outreach to underserved communities around the state, and strengthening academic pipeline programs in partnership with Colorado school districts, community colleges, scholarship foundations and families.

In meeting with students and families in southern Colorado and other parts of the state outside the Front Range, CU administrators have found that many first-generation and ethnic minority students who are qualified to attend a four-year college instead enroll at two-year colleges or decide not to pursue higher education opportunities at all.

"There is a large talent drain," said UCCS Chancellor Pam Shockley-Zalabak. "That's what concerns me. They were qualified to go."

According to CU's Office of Academic Affairs, the university's annual diversity report monitors CU's progress in increasing racial and ethnic diversity on all four campuses. It has traditionally included data on student enrollment, degrees awarded and graduation and retention rates. The report also presents racial, ethnic and gender information on faculty and staff diversity at each campus and at system administration.

Recently, the university expanded the report to recognize a more inclusive definition of diversity by presenting data on enrollment of first-generation students (those who are first in their families to attend college), students from low-income families, students with disabilities and students who represent Colorado's broad array of geographic regions, each with a unique history and culture.

According to the 2009-10 report, all four CU campuses have experienced steady enrollment increases in recent years. Enrollment of students of color has kept pace with overall growth, and in some cases has even increased at a slightly faster rate.

"This has led to greater racial and ethnic diversity on the campuses, but the change has been more modest than many people would hope," the report said. "The challenge of the university is not only to identify the most effective strategies for improving the recruitment and retention of students from all backgrounds, but to effectively implement those strategies at a time when resources are so tightly restrained."

UC Denver remains among the most ethnically diverse campuses in Colorado, and Camacho said the campus is proud of progress it has made with outreach programs, including a partnership with Aurora Public Schools that is being funded by a $4 million National Science Foundation grant. The grant enables UC Denver and the school district to work with students starting in the sixth-grade in hopes of ushering them through college and into health professions; 500 students are participating in the program this year.

For many students of color and first-generation scholars, deciding whether to attend a two-year or four-year college often comes down to the availability of scholarships and other financial aid, especially within health-care professions. In the past, CU has seen gifted students of color choose Stanford or another university that offered more financial aid, diversity officers told the regents.

In response, Boulder Regent Joe Neguse said, "I assume you would all agree that increased funding for student aid and these programs may keep some of these talented minority students at CU rather than going to Stanford or some of these other institutions."

Warner said the Colorado Springs campus is a "good launching point for the University of Colorado," especially in southeastern Colorado, but that the university system needs to grow its pool of qualified students of color from around the state.

CU-Boulder, meanwhile, has multiple high-quality, pre-collegiate programs in place under the umbrella CU-Lead Alliance and Scholarship Program, but administrators still are finding it difficult to recruit gifted students of color and first-generation students, who often have preconceived notions about studying in Boulder. "Two students informed me they almost didn't come to the University of Colorado at Boulder. Both are now going to graduate school," Keasley said.

Regent Michael Carrigan told Keasley and the other diversity officers that he and the other regents would "love to be part of closing the deal" when it comes to convincing talented and gifted students of color and first-generation students to attend CU.

"I would love to get a spreadsheet, sit down on the phone, and tell them that, as one of the university's regents, we'd love to have you at our university," Carrigan said.

The annual diversity report also indicated that the percentage of tenured and tenure-track faculty positions held by people of color and by women is highest at the assistant professor level on all campuses, which suggests that a more diverse group of people is entering academia.

"This bodes well for the future, but means that retention is critical," the report said. "It is a long path from assistant professor to full professor, so it will take time to see what pattern emerges."

At UC Denver, 12 percent of tenured or tenure-track faculty are ethnic minorities. Among all full professors, 9 percent are minorities; among associate professors, 11 percent are minorities; among assistant professors, 16 percent are minorities.

At UCCS, 11 percent of tenured or tenure-track faculty are ethnic minorities. Among all full professors, 9 percent are minorities; among associate professors, 12 percent are minorities; among assistant professors, 13 percent are minorities.

At CU-Boulder, 18 percent of tenured or tenure-track faculty are ethnic minorities. Among all full professors, 12 percent are minorities; among associate professors, 20 percent are minorities; among assistant professors, 26 percent are minorities.

The report also reveals greater diversity among staff on the campuses and system administration, but "there is room for improvement among the higher levels of employment." According to diversity officers, a majority of staff members from ethnic minority groups work in the service and maintenance areas.

At UC Denver, 43 percent of staff members who work in the service or maintenance areas are people of color; at UCCS, 36 percent; at CU-Boulder, 67 percent.