U of M Unveils $85M Plan to Add Diversity to Student Body

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Diversity is becoming more and more of a conscious thought in the minds of everyone in higher education, especially when it comes to the nation’s rapidly growing Latino population. Latinos have made great strides in attaining college degrees in recent years, however, they still lag behind most ethnic and racial groups in obtaining higher education degrees.

At the University of Michigan, a new plan looks to take steps to help Latinos and other minorities better navigate the college experience and earn degrees, the Associated Press reports.

The university, located in Ann Arbor, Mich. (4.6% Latino population), has committed $85 million over the next five seasons to implementing programs that will help incoming minority freshmen adjust to the college life and develop skills that will allow them to adjust to differing cultural experiences.

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“The value of creating a robust, diverse, equitable and inclusive campus community — one where people of different abilities, races and ethnicities, political and religious views, sexual orientations and gender identities feel welcome and accepted — is immeasurable,” Vice Provost Rob Sellers said in a release.

Additional initiatives include Michigan faculty being given “resources and tools to help them make learning more inclusive and effective for diverse groups of students.” Also, outreach programs will be created to “recruit and keep a more diverse pool of students, faculty, and staff.” The campus’ students, faculty, and staff offered input on the initiatives at more than 200 separate meetings over the course of a year.

“Our community can be complete only when all members feel welcome,” said University President Mark Schlissel.

The university announced that its 2015 freshman class of 6,071 was its most diverse class since 2005 as 12.8% of the class was comprised of minorities, including Latinos.