According to recent statistics by the Office of Institutional Assessment and Studies, the number of black applicants for fall admission to the University dropped by 326 applications, or 25.3 percent, from the previous year, prompting University-wide concern.
Although the overall number of applications dropped 16 percent - from 17,090 in 1999 to this year's 14,298 - the significant drop among black applicants has led to alarm among some faculty.
African-American Affairs Dean M. Rick Turner said he attributes the drop to many factors that have changed the way the University is viewed by black applicants.
"I and many others feel that the disparity and remarks from [Board of Visitors member] Terence Ross" have damaged the University in the eyes of black parents and students, Turner said.
In September, Ross said to The Daily Progress that the University is "clearly in some cases reaching a little bit down our academic standards to recruit black students."
The drop in the number of applicants "is one of the outcomes when you disrespect the African-American community," Turner said.
He said the University's reputation was damaged by the comments Ross made, and it is "going to take a couple of years to turn that around."
He added "when your reputation is damaged you just don't turn around and increase" the application fee from $40 to $60, citing the increase as another factor in the decrease in applications.
Karen Holt, director of Equal Opportunity Programs, said while the reason for the drop in black applicants may never be known for certain, the negative publicity probably exacerbated the situation.
"Positive attention tends to increase [applications] and negative attention tends to decrease [applications]," regardless of the root cause of the publicity, Holt said.
Mike Costa, director of networking for the Black Student Alliance, said he feels decrease is "reflective of the trends across the board, and the University-wide drop" in applicants.
Costa said if the decrease in applications from prospective black students were viewed alone, then possibly the negative press and the increase in application fee may have played a role in the decisions of prospective students.
Turner said the University still must atone for the negative publicity, and he also is concerned about the effect that the decrease in applicants is having on students currently enrolled at the University.
Costa said "overall it may be an unconscious change" because it is not noticed by those who already have applied, been accepted and currently are students.
Dean of Admissions John A. Blackburn could not be reached for comment.
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