Minority applications increase
Programs spread word about campus, increase diversity

By Carrie Woodall
Staff Reporter

Minority admissions applications for fall 2001 have greatly increased from last year which may result in a higher ethnic diversity on campus, Ray Brown, dean of admissions, said.

The number of minority applications increased from 787 to 1,030. Last year, about 13 percent of the incoming class were minority students. Nearly 18 percent of the incoming students that have been accepted for next fall are minority students.

“This is an institution that has put its money where its mouth is,” Brown said. “It’s welcoming (minority) students. (The university) is doing something about (the situation) by making positive roads in its community. If our current students will take advantage of the different opportunities, the different life experiences and different ways of doing things that people are bringing with them, then it can have a wonderful and major impact on the education (students) have here.
“The thing that is fueling the (minority) students to apply, beyond the applicant pool as a whole, is maybe this notoriety that’s coming from the Community Scholar’s program.”

Misty Tippen, admissions counselor, said the program, which reaches out to students at local schools who, due to monetary reasons, may not come to TCU, has shown that the university welcomes students of different backgrounds.

“The Community Scholar’s program has impacted the increase in minority applications just by getting the word out to surrounding high schools about the opportunities here,” she said.

Chancellor Michael Ferrari said the increase is due to a number of different reasons.

“The increase is due to the ongoing work of the Chancellor’s Advisory Council, the outstanding work of the admissions staff, the involvement of current minority students in student recruitment efforts and the success of the Community Scholar’s program,” he said.

Brown said that with the help of the Community Scholar’s program, most of the minority students are from the United States, especially Texas.

“It’s OK that these students are coming mostly from Texas, because we have one of the most diverse states in the United States,” he said.

Ferrari said the university is fulfilling its goals in many ways even though most of the students are coming from Texas.
“By sustaining this effort in the coming years, we will be a university that fulfills its vision by being a prominent private university recognized for our global perspective and our diverse and supportive learning community,” he said.

Carrie Woodall
c.d.woodall@tcu.edu