Significant student concern has prompted President Brian Rosenberg to charge the Multicultural Advisory Board with studying the college’s current policies on domestic diversity and developing a coherent philosophy on the issue.

In commissioning the study, Rosenberg said he hopes to increase the number of domestic students of color on campus and improve the environment for current students. The Multicultural Advisory Board will present its findings in a report to the Admissions Committee of the Board of Trustees in May.

Rosenberg said that the Multicultural Advisory Board’s primary task will be to determine a definition of success in terms of domestic diversity and to suggest strategies for achieving that success. He said that this definition should go beyond articulating the desirable percentage of domestic students of color in the student body and should also encompass more qualitative elements.

“One measure of success is the number of students we recruit. Another is retention of those students. Another measure is quality of experience for domestic students of color,” Rosenberg said. “Success would be an appropriately large number of domestic students of color who are having a good experience while they are here.”

With the school’s urban location and stated commitment to diversity, the number of domestic students of color ought to be higher, Rosenberg said.

Rosenberg said that academic programs, student services and support services do not currently meet the needs of domestic students of color. The Multicultural Advisory Board will examine these programs and policies and will continue to be involved in improving support systems for domestic students of color once the report is completed, Rosenberg said.

Board member Rebecca Hossain ’05 said that programming for domestic students of color will need to be expanded to keep up with the growing number of domestic students of color on campus. “The Lealtad-Suzuki Center is one of the smallest departments. If we keep getting more students of color, what are we going to do about that?”

The Board is composed of faculty, staff and students and is chaired by Dean of Multicultural Life Joi Lewis and Biology Professor Jan Serie, who is also the Director of the Center for Scholarship and Teaching. Hossain said that she would work with Board member Shana Davis ’07 to solicit ideas from other students and alumni.

Rosenberg said that numerous students brought domestic diversity issues to his attention last year. He said that the low number of domestic students of color at Macalester and the lack of sufficient resources catering to that particular group were primary concerns.

“More students came to talk to me about that issue than any other, with the possible exception of environmental issues,” he said. “It was clear to me last year that domestic diversity is an issue that is very important to students.”

Former MCSG President Simone King ’04 and Hossain spoke before the Admissions Committee of the Board of Trustees last May on the issues of recruitment and retention of domestic students of color.

Lewis suggested that although Macalester has much work to do in improving the environment for domestic students of color, the college has made great progress in recent years.

“We have added staff positions in Multicultural Life, Admissions, Campus Programs and the MAX Center, and have added two Dean positions (Dean of Multicultural Life & the Dean for the Study of Race & Ethnicity),” she said. “We have added several new programs of exploration and support for students including the Pluralism and Unity Program, the Emerging Scholars Program, the Mellon-Mays Undergraduate Fellowship Program.”