Dr. Kyle Reyes recalls how important it was to — if not achieve authenticity — avoid culinary bloopers that might offend Utah Valley University (UVU)’s Latino guests.
So Reyes, who’s fluent in Spanish, accompanied UVU’s head chef to a Mexican restaurant that’s popular among local Latinos. Before cooking for the parents of high school students whom university officials were trying to recruit, the chef wanted to learn how to prepare dishes that were not part of his repertoire and what ingredients were missing from the stock in his kitchen.
Paying close attention to details — whether it’s for family refreshments or teaching teens how to shorten paths toward their career goals — has helped UVU more than quadruple its Latino enrollment in a decade.
“We don’t just print brochures in Spanish,” says Reyes, who was director of UVU’s Latino Initiative from 2007 to 2009.
UVU also tripled its annual number of Latino graduates from 2004 to 2014, thanks to support and outreach by many university staff and faculty. This spring, 365 Latinos graduated, the majority of them with bachelor’s degrees, a figure similar to that of 2014, the first time the head count topped 300.
The traditionally White institution enrolls about 31,000 students, of whom 10 percent are Latino. Across all racial groups, 35 percent are first-generation college-goers and, as recently as 2014, about 70 percent of students worked more than 20 hours weekly.
Since 2007, the university has stepped up recruitment of Latinos by sponsoring parent open house events on campus and parent night events in the community. University officials have also woven tailor-made curriculum into its Summer Bridge programs to appeal to Latino youth.
