THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Friday, February 10, 1995 TAG: 9502100547
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B3 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY TONYA WOODS, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: NORFOLK LENGTH: Medium: 58 lines
Can colleges find new ways to improve retention rates among minority students while fostering a more diverse environment in which all students feel comfortable?
That was the question addressed Thursday by college presidents from California, New York, New Jersey and Colorado during a video conference at Old Dominion University.
The conference was the fourth of its kind in a project sponsored by the American Association of State Colleges and Universities. The series focuses on racial issues affecting college campuses nationwide.
As cameras recorded the talk-show-style program, about 25 people watched it live and more than 300 other colleges and universities across the country tuned in via the PBS Adult Learning Satellite Service.
The panelists stressed the need for strong faculty-student relationships and inclusive, creative teaching methods to encourage minority students to enjoy learning.
``College professors have much more freedom in their teaching style,'' said Vera King-Farris, president of The Richard Stockton College of New Jersey. ``They aren't confined to a single method of teaching, so they should utilize that to every student's advantage.''
Joel M. Jones, president of Fort Lewis College in Colorado, said that while educators do try to adapt their teaching to reach all students, aiming curricula at one specific racial group would be a mistake.
``We have to leave ethnicity out of it,'' Jones said. ``We need to focus on ways of making education suitable for those who are economically and educationally disadvantaged.''
Noelia Vela, president of Evergreen Valley College in California, said schools facing budget cuts must find ways to preserve programs that have proven successful in encouraging minority students to learn.
``We've experienced those types of cuts in California,'' Vela said. ``But if the program is making a positive difference in educating students, the institution must find a way to hold on to that program.''
ODU student Everett Pope, who did not participate in Thursday's program, said he believes in promoting cultural diversity on campuses. The problem, he says, is that by the time most students get to college, they've already become set in their beliefs about others.
``Out of 100 college students, only about 20 of them will recognize the problems with not being in a culturally diverse environment,'' he said, ``but most of them probably won't change.'' ILLUSTRATION: Photo
CHRISTOPHER REDDICK/Staff
John Simmons, director of orientation at ODU, watches a television
monitor during a national video conference on campus diversity
Thursday. College presidents from California, New York, New Jersey
and Colorado took part in the video conference.
by CNB