“Twenty years ago, the program started out as an effort to attract African-American males to science. It has since expanded for all students and has 50 percent African-American participation,” Moreira said.
Deborah Santiago, vice president for policy and research at the Washington-based Excelencia in Education organization, said she believes that effective recruitment and retention programs have to be “targeted and intentional” so that underrepresented students participate in them rather than passing them by.
“Targeted efforts make a fundamental difference. Students do better when they know they’re welcome and provided for,” Santiago said.
In response, audience member Dr. Lester Monts, senior vice provost at the University of Michigan, challenged panelists to consider the reality that many institutions have been stymied by state laws outlawing affirmative action. And, as a result, schools such as the University of Michigan are unable to specify that outreach and retention efforts are intended for any particular racial group.
Santiago, however, cited an example from California, where affirmative action has been banned since the late 1990s, in which the Puente Project community college transfer program carries the name “Puente,” which means bridge in English. Open to all students, the “Puente” program has been successful in attracting Latino students because it sends the signal that they are welcome, according to Santiago.
“There are ways of grounding programs in the experience of communities so that you can attract diverse students,” Santiago said.
