"Ethnicity takes higher profile, but is static at UB"

This is the fourth part in a continuing series, "The changing face of UB," which examines recent student population trends as UB moves forward into the John Simpson era.

There's no denying UB is a diverse campus.

Go anywhere on North or South and the admissions slogans ring true: students of every creed and color can be found catching the bus to Ellicott or running late to classes in Diefendorf. There's Korean food in The Commons, Kosher food at Bert's, and countless clubs for Muslims, blacks, Pakistanis, Irish and Jews, just to name a few.

But for all its diversity, some might be surprised to learn that the ethnicity percentages at UB haven't changed much over the last 15 years. Officials say the reason is twofold and although UB remains committed to increasing ethnic diversity, doing so remains a long and difficult process.

According to Michael Ryan, dean of undergraduate studies, UB celebrates the fact that it is a fairly diverse campus, but an emphasis remains on doing better.

"We have made efforts to increase the representation of underrepresented minorities in a number of ways, and I believe those efforts have in fact been partially successful," Ryan said.

The latest statistics from fall 2004 show that within the overall student population, UB is 68 percent white, seven percent black, eight percent Asian, and three percent Hispanic. In any study of ethnicity, a certain percentage is always undisclosed.

The undergraduate population by itself is similar, with 64 percent white. And although that percentage is down from 77 percent in 1991, the minority numbers have changed minimally, if not insignificantly. In 15 years, the Asian population has grown two percent while the black student body increased only one percent.

Barbara Ricotta, dean of students, said the statistics shouldn't be considered unusual.

"As an observer, I don't find those statistics to be surprising because it doesn't look like our population has changed much," she said.

"I would be concerned if it were decreasing," she added. "But I don't know if the fact that is hasn't increased is bad."

According to Ryan, the ethnic stability at UB isn't necessarily a bad thing, and it needs to be understood in context. If you look at the total pool of minorities graduating from high schools statewide, "we capture at UB a significant proportion of the available students," he said.

Ryan said there is room to improve, but two things are offsetting UB's efforts: an increased selectivity in the admission process coupled with the growing education gap.

"The pool of students that are in sort of the higher level of academic profile very often come from families of privilege," Ryan said. "There is kind of a disproportionate reflection of ethnicity in that sense."

Ryan said the gap is a problem that needs to be addressed, but it is a long-term social issue that runs deep.

"It's something that needs to go all the way back to the educational experience starting at elementary levels," he said.

To that end, Ryan said UB is doing its part.

"The responsibility of the state university and part of our mission is access for students to higher education, independent of their means or ability to pay," he said.

"It's not just ethnicity," he added. "It's a general access issue for any student."

When compared to ethnicity trends at other SUNY schools, UB seems to be average, if not slightly behind the pack. UB's 18 percent minority student population is close to Albany's 21 percent, though further from Binghamton's 27 percent.

Stony Brook, the fourth SUNY center, clocks in at 40 percent.

Barbara Burke, director of the Office of Equity, Diversity and Affirmative Action Administration, said it's important to remember from where a school is drawing its population. In Western New York, the minority population is less than 18 percent.

"You can't in a vacuum say it's a good number or a bad number," she said.

Ryan added that Stony Brook, for instance, draws much more from the diverse New York City area. UB's numbers reflect much closer to that of overall New York State, which is 74 percent white, according to U.S. census estimates.

"It's a complex issue and I think the message to draw from looking at the data is that despite our efforts...it's not a simple problem with a quick fix," Ryan said.

Ryan isn't the only one who would like to see an upward trend in ethnic diversity. Ever since his arrival two years ago, President John Simpson has consistently made a point that UB diversity is a high priority. His entire inauguration speech, in fact, was about access to public universities.

"It's something we should always be aware of and I think we should be focused on, but it should not be our only focus," Ricotta said.

Ryan said that while UB2020 has mostly focused on research and academic strengths, "both the president and provost have articulated very clearly in almost every venue where I've heard them talk ... the importance of diversity, of access. Both in regard to students, and faculty and staff."

"It's been a very strong and consistent message in that regard," he said.