University of Rhode Island Admits its Most Diverse Freshmen Class - Brief Article

Black Issues in Higher Education, Sept 14, 2000

SOUTH KINGSTOWN, R.I.

The University of Rhode Island will be admitting its most diverse freshmen class ever this fall. Approximately 300 of the 2,400 incoming freshmen are minorities. There also will be three new minority staff members, including three professors.

The changes were brought about in part due to the demands of Brothers United for Action, a small group of Black students. Last year, the group marched across campus to protest racism at the state's largest university and submitted a list of demands to the school's president, Dr. Robert L. Carothers.

So far, Carothers has met many requests. He also has shown willingness to work with students and a sincerity that the group finds encouraging, leaders say.

Carothers agreed to name a conference room in the Multicultural Center after the late Rev. Arthur Hardge, a noted civil rights activist who was a pioneer for minority fights at the university.

Since he came to the university in 1991, Carothers has boosted minority enrollment from 6 percent to 12 percent. Similarly, minority representation on the faculty has risen, from 9.6 percent to 13.8 percent.