UC Irvine ranked No. 2 in diversity among colleges

UC Irvine via Wikimedia Creative Commons by Allyunion

The Wall Street Journal this month named The University of California Irvine number two in the country for diversity in higher education. The Higher Education 2021 College Rankings took into account the racial and ethnic makeup of students and staff, the number of international students and the percentage of Pell Grant recipients. 

The university says it is one of the only members of the Association of American Universities to be designated both a Hispanic-Serving Institution and Asian American and Native American Pacific Islander-Serving Institution. 

“Fully one-quarter of undergraduates identify as Latino and… half of all students receive financial aid… at least 10 percent of enrollment of undergraduate students is Asian American and Native American Pacific Islander students,” UC Irvine said in a statement.

According to CollegeSimply.com, UCI is predominantly Asian (37%) with a sizable Hispanic population as well (25%). 15% of UCI students are White, while a mere 2% are Black.  

To combat the numbers, the Los Angeles Times reports UCI unveiled an extensive plan in late August to increase Black representation on the campus . UCI has the second smallest-proportion of Black students among the nine UC’s. 

The ‘Black Thriving Initiative’ will allow for ten new Black faculty hires, a new program offering $30,000 research grants, increased focus on increasing Black students in UC Irvine’s undergraduate and graduate programs and more. To hold the campus accountable, a ‘scorecard’ of the campus’ policing practices and classes will be held biannually. 

The campus vice chancellor for equity, diversity and inclusion called anti-blackness a “threat to our mission to be a place where all people can teach and learn and thrive.”

“As a campus, as much as we feel we have momentum in improving the experience of our Black students, faculty and staff, we can’t do this piecemeal,” Douglas M Haynes told the Los Angeles Times. “This is a national imperative that requires an equivalent response.”

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