Equal Opportunity Committee
Of the
Board of Visitors
November 28, 2001
Agenda
I.
Call to Order
II.
Approval of Minutes, September 26, 2001 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . C-3
III.
New Business
a. Introductory Remarks – Earl G. Ingram, Vice President and University
Equity Officer
b. On the Road to 2007: Building a Quality Student Body While Maintaining
Diversity – Andrew Flagel, Director, Admissions and Enrollment
Development, George Mason University
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Equal Opportunity Committee
Of the
Board of Visitors
MINUTES
September 26, 2001
Present:
Vice Rector McGeary, Chairman Johnson, Visitors Anderson and Pomato;
Student Representative Melia; Vice President Ingram
Absent:
Rector Meese, Visitors Gray and Hazel
I.
Vice Rector McGeary opened the meeting at 9:05 a.m.
II.
New Business
Vice Rector McGeary opened the floor for nominations for Chairman of
the Equal Opportunity Committee.
Vice Rector McGeary MOVED for the nomination of Mr. Manuel
Johnson and Mr. Anderson seconded the nomination.
There being no further nominations, MOTION CARRIED. Mr. Johnson
was unanimously elected Chair of the Equal Opportunity Committee.
Chairman Johnson accepted the nomination and then opened floor for
approval of the minutes.
It was MOVED by Chairman Johnson and seconded by Vice Rector
McGeary that the minutes of May 9, 2001 be approved as submitted.
MOTION CARRIED.
Chairman Johnson turned the meeting over to Vice President Ingram.
Vice President Ingram introduced Mr. Frank Matthews, publisher of the
Black Issues and Higher Education, and stated that Mr. Matthews would
present an overview of George Mason University’s minority graduation
rankings at the national level.
Mr. Matthews thanked Vice President Ingram for inviting him to speak
before the Board. He began his presentation with some background
information on his publication. He stated that Black Issues in Higher
Education has been published since 1984, and issues twenty-six
publications per year that focus on black and other minority participation
in higher education. Mr. Matthews said that this is the tenth consecutive
year that Black Issues in Higher Education has conducted and released
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EEO Committee
Sept. 26, 2001
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definitive graduation rankings for all of the nation’s post-secondary
institutions by the aggregate and individual minority student populations.
He said that unlike the annual survey done by the U.S. News and World
Report; this ranking is entirely objective and was extracted from the U.S.
Department of Education’s database.
Mr. Matthews highlighted ten points about George Mason’s standing in
the national rankings. They are as follows:
1. Minority students earned one in three of the bachelor degrees at
George Mason University. GMU ranked 53rd in the nation in the
granting of bachelor degrees to minorities. (See Exhibit A)
2. Asian students earned one in four of GMU’s bachelor degrees.
GMU placed 30th in the nations ranking. African American and
Native American students did not make the top 100 ranking in this
category. (See Exhibit B)
3.
Asian students earned one in four of the Biological Sciences
degrees. GMU’s ranking was 40th. No other minority student
population made the rankings in Biological Sciences. (See Exhibit
C)
4. Minorities earned almost half of GMU’s Business Management
degrees. (See Exhibit D)
5. Minority students earned six out of ten Computer and Information
Science degrees. Asian students in Computer Science ranked 8th in
the nation at the bachelor’s level. (See Exhibit E – a & b)
6. African Americans excelled in the English category. Native
Americans and Asians finished 11th and 12th respectively in this
field too. (See Exhibit F – a, b& c)
7. Minorities in the master degree category earned fifteen percent of
GMU’s 300 degrees. GMU placed 53rd nationally. (See Exhibit G)
8. Hispanics ranked 62nd and African Americans ranked 67th in the
award of master degrees for all disciplines combined. (See Exhibit
H – a & b)
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EEO Committee
Sept. 26, 2001
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9. African Americans ranked rather low at the undergraduate level,
but showed remarkable strength at the master degree level in all
disciplines from English to Engineering.
10. At the doctorate level, GMU showed surprising strength, ranking
at 83rd. (See Exhibit I)
In closing, Mr. Matthews stated that the ten brief observations specifically
focused on George Mason University from a national perspective. Mr.
Matthews then opened the floor for questions.
Chairman Johnson asked if GMU’s results are because of our good
reputation? Vice President Ingram answered that in spite of GMU’s so
called reputation as a conservative institution; the university still attracts a
wide variety of minorities.
The committee talked briefly about GMU’s appeal to international
students and sense of diversity.
Vice Rector McGeary asked about how GMU ranked against Georgetown
and George Washington University with regard to attracting minorities.
Mr. Matthews replied that GMU came out ahead in most categories, but in
some cases GMU could not compete because of the schools long history
and the number of scholarships offered to students. He stated that the
schools that ranked higher than GMU have a lot more to offer students in
terms of research opportunities and have longer, more established graduate
programs, especially for African Americans.
Student Representative Melia asked Mr. Matthews if he had any more
information regarding the absence of international students at the doctoral
level in psychology. Mr. Matthews said that at the present time, he didn’t
have additional information. Chairman Johnson commented that it would
be interesting to see how GMU’s doctoral program matched up against our
peer institutions that do not have large endowment funds. Vice President
Ingram replied that the Equity Office could do a special report and supply
the committee with this information at a future meeting.
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Vice President Ingram distributed copies of a graph, which showed the
race and ethnic composition for the United States, 1999, and a prediction
for 2025. He stated that the chart showed some unusual changes in the
population trend. He said that by 2025, there would be a tremendous
change in the population growth for Hispanic Americans, and for Black
Americans, there would be a population decline. (See Exhibit J)
Vice Rector McGeary opened the floor for nominations for Vice Chair. It
was MOVED by Chairman Johnson and seconded by Vice Rector
McGeary that Mr. Leonard Pomato be nominated for Vice Chair. There
were no further nominations. MOTION CARRIED. Mr. Pomato was
unanimously elected as Vice Chair of the Equal Opportunity Committee.
IV.
Adjournment
Chairman Johnson thanked Mr. Matthews for his presentation, and
adjourned the meeting at 9:35 a.m.
Respectfully submitted,
Yolanda C. King
Secretary pro tem
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