The University Daily Kansan
Wednesday, February 25, 1998
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Verina LeGrand, Arlington, Texas, freshman; Lien Pham, Overland Park junior; and Sasha Flores, Hutchinson senior, prepare pamphlets in the Office of Minority Affairs. The office helps students with academics and everyday matters. Photo by Holly Grassbona/KANSAN
Office of Minority Affairs rooted in diverse history
ay Gerry Doyle
gdoyle @kansan.com
Kansas staff writer
In 1972, the University of Kansas took steps to officially help meet the needs of its minority student population.
The turbulent racial and social tensions of the 1960s helped create the office of Urban Affairs in 1969 to deal with the concerns of African-American students, who at that time made up about 1 percent of the University's student population. In 1972, the name was changed to the Office of Minority Affairs.
The aim of the newly-created program was to provide a support group for minority students and to serve as a watchdog for students' rights.
He said the Office offered its services to any student, regardless of race or background.
"We're not an office here to fix social ills," he said. "We want to show that we are one community.
The diversity of the University should be celebrated and used to build a better education, he said.
This first step was consistent with the University's past interactions with minority students and faculty, said Sherwood Thompson, director of the Office of Minority Affairs, 145 Strong Hall.
"KU has an excellent track record," Thompson said. "There was still segregation in housing, but Brown vs. the Topeka Board of Education ended educational segregation. KU was taking minority students, but the campuses were ill-equipped to handle it."
There were no African-American or Hispanic faculty when the Office of Urban Affairs was created.
Now, the Office of Minority Affairs holds true to its original mission, but has broadened in scope, Thompson said.
The office's programs range from speed-reading courses to finding careers in health-care fields, but its focus is on building a sense of community at the University, he said.
Why do people cheer at a basketball game? It's school spirit. That's what we want to build."
In 1983, when the University began tracking numbers of minority students, there were 781 African-American students, 105 American Indian students, 246 Asian students and 250 Hispanic students on the Lawrence campus. These numbers totaled about 5.7 percent of the University's population.
Now, there are 746 African-American students, 242 American Indian students, 721 Asian students and 577 Hispanic students, which combine for about 10 percent of the University's population on the Lawrence campus.
The increase largely can be attributed to recruitment efforts and more minority scholarships, Thompson said. The Kansas Board of Regents is backing a plan to keep Kansas' Minority Scholarship Program from ending because of a legislative limit on the number of years the program could exist.
The office does more than just helping people through specific programs, said Staci Schorcer, a Lawrence senior who has worked for the office since last semester. Students can study in the office's
Minority Affairs Programs
- The Multicultural Resource Center
- Health Careers Pathways Program
- Hispanic-American Leadership
Organization (HALO)
Students Together Excelling in
Minority Affairs Project Outreach
Renewal IMAPQPL
Education as Peers (stEp)
Individual advising
Pre mod advising
Scholarship information Emergency care
Department referrals
Emergency grants
library or drop by the office for advice, Schorcer said.
Above all, the office provides a focal point for students, she said.
"I think it's really helpful," she said. "It serves as a good core for minority students. It just helps make the University a better place to be."
Antoine Agnew, Wichita graduate student, said he swung by the office looking for scholarship information.
"I'm applying for a scholarship and I got lost," Agnew said. "I had come by here when I first enrolled, and they were helpful. Now I have a map."
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