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CU-Boulder sees 9% increase in students of color
Current student body is campus' most diverse ever, officials say
By Brittany Anas, Camera Staff Writer
Boulder Daily Camera
Posted:09/19/2011 06:41:35 PM MDT
The University of Colorado's current student body is the most diverse ever, according to results
from a campus census that show the number of students of color increased by 9 percent this fall
over last year.
CU officials credit campus recruiting and retention programs for the gain as minorities now make
up 17 percent of the school's student body. Last school year, students of color made up 16
percent of the student body, and they made up 15 percent of total enrollment the prior year. UCB
comment 9/20/11 – the 2009 figure was 14%, not 15%.
Genesis Quinones, a CU junior from Greeley who is of Mexican and El Salvadoran descent, said
she followed in her older sisters' footsteps and came to CU. She said current students can be
powerful ambassadors, helping recruit minority high schoolers.
Quinones, who is a member of CU's United Mexican American Students, said the group is
planning on sending members back to their high schools to help promote CU to potential students
this semester.
"More college fairs and more outreach outside of Denver would be helpful," she said.
Quinones is triple majoring in sociology, ethnic studies and studio arts, and through one of her
class projects, she helped build a support group for students who are the first in their families to
attend college.
The increase in minorities follows a 7 percent increase last year, according to Malinda MillerHuey, a campus spokeswoman.
The overall number of American Indian students was up 11 percent, Asian-Americans up 4
percent, African-Americans up 4 percent, and Hispanic and Latino students up 13 percent.
Of the new freshmen, 20 percent, or 1,141, are students of color. All ethnic minority groups
except American Indians showed increases in number.
Asian-Americans increased by 11 percent, African-Americans by 25 percent, and Hispanic and
Latino students by 20 percent. American Indians decreased by 8 percent.
CU Diversity Director Robert Boswell said that strong outreach and retention programs that help
recruit and retain minority students are proving successful. Campus representatives are
expanding their reach, traveling to southern Colorado and mountain regions, he said.
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The university also is applying for grants to help continue building its programs.
CU's Leadership, Excellence, Achievement and Diversity Alliance -- known at CU-Lead -- enrolls
students in "academic neighborhoods" and offers small classes, research experiences, close
work with professors, mentoring, tutoring and scholarships.
The university also works to increase the pipeline of the number of students who are collegeready through its Pre-Collegiate Development Program, which begins working with students as
early as middle school.
The program enrolls nearly 1,000 students and 96 percent of the pre-collegiate graduates go on
to pursue a college degree and about half of them enroll at CU-Boulder.
UCB comment 9/20/11: The following was in a separate box alongside the story:
CU student census
The University of Colorado's census has been finalized. Here are some highlights:
-- CU enrolls 5,663 freshmen, the second-largest in the campus's history and a 10 percent
increase since last fall
-- CU enrolls 29,884 degree-seeking students, about 70 fewer than last year
-- The most popular undergraduate majors are psychology, with more than 1,900 students, and
integrative physiology, with more than 1,400. International affairs and environmental studies
follow, with nearly 800 students in each.
Contact Camera Staff Writer Brittany Anas at 303-473-1132 or anasb@dailycamera.com.
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