02-12-17 Diversity

Dear Friends of the College:

In his first 100 days, President Robert Gates has established clear priorities for Texas A&M University and for his administration.  Drawing from the imperatives outlined in Vision 2020, President Gates has focused discussion on enhancing the number and quality of faculty, strengthening graduate programs, increasing diversity, and addressing the facilities needs of academic programs.  I concur wholeheartedly with President Gates’ judgment that making progress in each of these areas will advance educational experiences of students attending Texas A&M, and our success will benefit the state of Texas in the 21^st century. 

President Gates’ priorities closely correspond with areas we are emphasizing in the College of Liberal Arts B building nationally prominent programs, increasing international programs, and fostering an environment that supports diversity.  I am especially pleased that he chose to emphasize the need for greater diversity at Texas A&M because cultural enrichment will equip future generations of Aggies with the essential knowledge and skills to be successful in a complex state and nation.  Since you are likely to hear much about diversity at Texas A&M in the coming year, I thought that you should know more about how the College is addressing this critical area.

Universities across America are striving to diversify their faculty, yet the numbers of minority and women faculty remain discouragingly small in many disciplines.  We are working to increase applications from more minority B especially African-American and Hispanic students ‑ and women scholars.  I am pleased to tell you that nearly every college at Texas A&M has adopted the plan we implemented last year to encourage departments to seek job applications from as many minority and women candidates as possible.  This plan asks that departments establish dialogues with leading minority and women scholars in their fields so that when job openings are announced, they might be encouraged to apply.  Departments will also invite more minority and women scholars to campus to give class lecturers and seminars about their work.  After positive, productive sessions at Texas A&M, such visiting scholars often become critically important ambassadors for the University that can yield benefits for many years. 

Our departments are also seeking to enlarge the pool of minority and women PhDs by encouraging undergraduate students to attend graduate school.  This, in turn, will increase the number of potential candidates in future searches nationwide.  Our Department of Sociology has been a nationally recognized participant in Minority Opportunities through School Transformation (MOST).  The MOST program identifies students from underrepresented groups who may not have considered graduate school as an option and acquaints them with opportunities for an academic career.  Faculty and students work together on research projects, summer internships, and in preparing graduate school applications.  The Department of Sociology has established relationships with other schools in Texas to afford similar opportunities to their students.  We are working to implement lessons from the MOST program across the College.

A recent article in the New York Times (11/12/02) underscored the idea that increasing diversity on campus means more that increasing the number of minority students or faculty.  It means an increased understanding of diversity by all members of the University community B students, faculty, and staff.  The College has encouraged departments to broaden their curricular offerings to assure that course offerings are diverse.  The Department of Political Science, for example, received a $10,000 award from the Center for Teaching Excellence and the College to develop or modify undergraduate courses to incorporate cultural diversity and international topics.  The new or revised courses offered this year are Global Political Thought, Politics of Global Inequality, Globalization and Democracy, Comparative Government Institutions, Ethnic Conflict, Race and Politics in the US, and Latino Politics in the US.  The College is awarding additional grants on a competitive basis to broaden the curriculum of other disciplines so that undergraduates may gain insight about different cultures and ethnic identities. 

The College has also supported the development of an 18-hour (6 courses) undergraduate minor in Africana Studies, which will join existing undergraduate minor programs in Hispanic Studies and Women’s Studies.  This program will offer a general introductory course that explores the African Diaspora B its culture, history, and impact.  This minor program will draw on existing courses in history, sociology, English, and other departments to deepen student knowledge about the African Diaspora.  Like the programs in Hispanic Studies and Women’s Studies, I expect the Africana Studies program will also stimulate more courses in this area, prompt more discussions among faculty involved in this interdisciplinary program, and create a greater awareness of the African Diaspora on campus through such activities as a speakers program.  Ultimately, the intellectual communities composed of faculty and students drawn to courses in these minors will achieve the kind of environment essential to make diversity a part of the educational experience for all Aggies in the future.

Recruitment of a diverse student body is also a College of Liberal Arts priority.  Texas A&M is one among many universities in the state and nation that need to recruit greater numbers of African-American, Hispanic, and Asian-American students.  Here, too, there are many challenges, there is no single solution, and success will require genuine hard work as well as a commitment of new resources.  We have joined the University’s outreach efforts to recruit students from traditionally underrepresented groups in the state.  Dr. Don Curtis, our director of Undergraduate Student Services, has visited several high schools that have not traditionally sent students on to universities.  Our departments are calling high schools students directly if they are designated National Achievement Scholars and National Hispanic Scholars B designations, respectively, for high achieving African-American and Hispanic Students.  In this area, frankly, we have much to learn from our colleagues in engineering, science, and medicine who have developed successful approaches to recruiting underrepresented minorities and women to their colleges.  I know that we will be similarly successful. 

Interestingly, the University does receive applications from a significant number of African-American and Hispanic students who are offered admission.  These students do not, however, decide to enroll at Texas A&M in the same proportion as do Anglo students.  The University=s admit-to-enroll yield (the percentage of admitted students who actually enroll) is 47 percent African-American, 50 percent Hispanic, 35 percent Asian-American, and 63 percent Anglo students.  The College’s admit-to-enroll ratio is 43 percent African American, 46 percent Hispanic, 30 percent Asian American, and 54 percent Anglo students.  So, Texas A&M could improve markedly if only it enrolled greater numbers of minority students apply and are admitted.  University research as to why minority students declined to enroll in Texas A&M shows that the most often mentioned factor is simple finances B exceptional students receive scholarship offers from universities not covered by the Hopwood decision and other students of limited financial means attend more local colleges where expenses may be lower.  The University’s response (and the response of the University of Texas as well) has been to re-double efforts to raise funds for scholarships awarded to minority students from private foundations independent of the University.  Thus, the Texas A&M Development Foundation has created Foundation Excellence Award (FEA) scholarships that are funded with private donations and involve no decision-making by the University.  Please note that students apply for these awards independent of any Texas A&M University financial aid programs.  The Foundation awards these scholarships to both incoming freshmen and current students at the end of the spring semester.  President Gates has demonstrated his commitment to this program by pledging $50,000 from his personal income to fund an FEA.  I am pleased to tell you that the College has received funding to create four endowed FEAs during this past year.  Obviously we need more, many more, if we are to encourage high achieving minority students to stay in Texas and attend Texas A&M University. 

I would be very pleased to share information about any of the programs mentioned in this letter.  If you are interested in supporting an FEA, then I will be most happy to discuss the two options B a $8,000 commitment to support a single four-year scholar or a $40,000 commitment to create a permanently endowed scholarship.  Either would enhance the chances of Texas A&M achieving success on its diversity goals. 

Thanks again for your support.  Best wishes for the holiday season and for the coming new year.

Sincerely,

Charles A. Johnson

Dean