In an address in the Rotunda last night, University Chief Diversity Officer William Harvey discussed the current state of Latino/Hispanic affairs at the University as well as his plans for increasing diversity at the University in the near future.
Harvey said progress is being made toward increasing the number of Latino/Hispanic students at the University, noting that the number of Latino/Hispanic applicants and accepted students are both increasing. Approximately 37 percent of Latinos and Hispanics who apply to the University are accepted, Harvey said. According to the Office of Admission Web site, 38 percent of students who applied for admission in the fall of 2004 were accepted.
Despite these gains, Harvey added that the University must continue its efforts to increase Latino/Hispanic enrollment, since this particular population nationwide will double or triple over the next few decades.
"What we want this institution to do is to mirror society," Harvey said.
Harvey noted that Latinos and Hispanics currently comprise approximately three percent of the University undergraduate population, while Latinos and Hispanics make up approximately seven percent of the Commonwealth's population.
Harvey said as one-third of University students are not from the Commonwealth, the University should actively recruit students from states with large Latino/Hispanic communities.
The number of Latino/Hispanic faculty members at the University is also considered inadequate, Harvey noted.
"Our faculty recruitment is not nearly as strong as we would like," Harvey said. "We need to be much more vigilant."
Graduate Engineering student Emmanuel Smadja noted following Harvey's speech that in addition to the fact that few Latino/Hispanic faculty teach at the University, the school also does not have a "Latino Studies department" or major.
Harvey said he is instituting new programs in order to increase diversity and tolerance at the University.
A University-wide diversity council with representatives from all administrative and academic departments will begin meeting soon, he said.
This council will "proactively discuss diversity," Harvey said, in order to prevent further racially-motivated incidents similar to those that occurred on Grounds last fall.
Harvey also announced that beginning in November 2006, an annual Virginia symposium will be held in order for the University community to conduct a thematic analysis of an issue related to race. The first topic of the symposium will be the racial implications of Hurricane Katrina, Harvey said.
The University will also increase its efforts to reach out to the local Latino/Hispanic community in Charlottesville, Harvey said. In mid-September,according to Harvey, the University will take part in Take a Loved One to the Doctor Day, which will allow community members who do not regularly receive medical care to visit the hospital for treatment. Spanish-speaking members of the University community will be encouraged to assist in the effort.
Harvey's speech was one of the core events of this week's celebration of Latino/Hispanic awareness at the University, La Alianza chair Patrick Martinez said.
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