In spite of these advances, Hebert said, IU has several areas of great need. "While Indiana University has made noteworthy progress in achieving higher levels of equity and diversity on all of its campuses in recent years, much remains to be done before success can be declared," he said. "This center will serve as an authoritative resource on the higher education status of under-represented minorities in the state of Indiana."

   One area of concern is the limited enrollment of Latino and African-American students in relation to their representation in Indiana's population, and, compounding that, graduation rates for those populations that dramatically lag behind those of majority students.

   Thousands of Latinos have migrated north to Indiana and elsewhere. Additionally, Vietnamese refugees and their children who are now attending IU need services. Recent Supreme Court decisions have altered the nature of some of the university's diversity programs, as will future federal and state laws.

   The new center will be created in the model of other successful freestanding, multidisciplinary centers at IU, such as the Poynter Center for the Study of Ethics and American Institutions and the Center on Philanthropy. It will have an executive director, associate director, faculty associates, staff and several graduate and undergraduate research assistants, as well as an advisory committee.

   "A freestanding center will enable an independent entity to maximize IU's chances to improve the level of its diversity efforts across the board, without usurping the authority of administrative offices and programming bodies that already exist," Nelms said.