Spring Break
UA named best place for Arkansas students, Hispanics
Eric Evridge
Issue date: 1/28/08 Section: News
"We're going to continue what we're doing," he said, "but we're making efforts for more scholarships, and so is the state."
"The Department of Higher Education worked out a funding formula for all colleges and universities that the state needed to pay for quality education," Voorhies said. "Unfortunately, the formula has never been able to fund it 100 percent, but this year was the closest. The effort for everyone is to get the full funding," he said.
The UA Hispanic population has increased substantially over the last two academic years, which helped the UA's standing as a school where Hispanics are thriving. Hispanic and Latino enrollment increased 20.2 percent from 2005 to 2006, according to the UA Web site. Enrollment also increased 17.9 percent from 2006 to 2007.
With enrollment increasing every year, this recognition doesn't come as a surprise to university administrators, according to a press release.
"The UA is committed to creating and maintaining an environment that is inclusive of all people and one where all students of culturally diverse backgrounds will feel comfortable," said Johnetta Cross Brazzell, vice chancellor for student affairs, in a press release.
"It is encouraging to see that a publication like The Hispanic Outlook is recognizing the efforts that have been made by our university community in the past and also its commitment to creating a more diverse campus for all cultures, including Hispanic students," Brazzell said.
Hispanic enrollment has increased dramatically in the last few years, with 372 students in 2005 to 527 students in 2007, 2.8 percent of the student population, Voorhies said.
The UA also is experiencing a national trend in rising Hispanic college enrollment, according to The Hispanic Outlook magazine. "Hispanic enrollment in higher education - the actual headcount - increased immensely over the last decade, far more than that of any other racial or ethnic minority.
"A recent American Council on Education report shows a 67 percent jump between 1994 and 2004 and a 73 percent increase at four-year institutions," according to the magazine.
However, more than just academic improvements and funding has allowed the UA to so quickly move up the national ranks.
"We've been bringing in high- quality students and even more high-quality teachers to keep the teacher-to-student ratios down," Voorhies said. "Not to say we didn't already have high-quality students and teachers. We just have more now."
The UA provides numerous events and programs designed to increase campus diversity, according to a press release. Diversity Impact is a yearly event designed to introduce prospective students of diverse backgrounds to the campus. Other programs include the Hispanic Engineering Society - offered through the College of Engineering, Latino Unidos, the League of United Latin America Citizens (LULAC) and the International Culture Team offered through the Office of International Students and Scholars.
"The Department of Higher Education worked out a funding formula for all colleges and universities that the state needed to pay for quality education," Voorhies said. "Unfortunately, the formula has never been able to fund it 100 percent, but this year was the closest. The effort for everyone is to get the full funding," he said.
The UA Hispanic population has increased substantially over the last two academic years, which helped the UA's standing as a school where Hispanics are thriving. Hispanic and Latino enrollment increased 20.2 percent from 2005 to 2006, according to the UA Web site. Enrollment also increased 17.9 percent from 2006 to 2007.
With enrollment increasing every year, this recognition doesn't come as a surprise to university administrators, according to a press release.
"The UA is committed to creating and maintaining an environment that is inclusive of all people and one where all students of culturally diverse backgrounds will feel comfortable," said Johnetta Cross Brazzell, vice chancellor for student affairs, in a press release.
"It is encouraging to see that a publication like The Hispanic Outlook is recognizing the efforts that have been made by our university community in the past and also its commitment to creating a more diverse campus for all cultures, including Hispanic students," Brazzell said.
Hispanic enrollment has increased dramatically in the last few years, with 372 students in 2005 to 527 students in 2007, 2.8 percent of the student population, Voorhies said.
The UA also is experiencing a national trend in rising Hispanic college enrollment, according to The Hispanic Outlook magazine. "Hispanic enrollment in higher education - the actual headcount - increased immensely over the last decade, far more than that of any other racial or ethnic minority.
"A recent American Council on Education report shows a 67 percent jump between 1994 and 2004 and a 73 percent increase at four-year institutions," according to the magazine.
However, more than just academic improvements and funding has allowed the UA to so quickly move up the national ranks.
"We've been bringing in high- quality students and even more high-quality teachers to keep the teacher-to-student ratios down," Voorhies said. "Not to say we didn't already have high-quality students and teachers. We just have more now."
The UA provides numerous events and programs designed to increase campus diversity, according to a press release. Diversity Impact is a yearly event designed to introduce prospective students of diverse backgrounds to the campus. Other programs include the Hispanic Engineering Society - offered through the College of Engineering, Latino Unidos, the League of United Latin America Citizens (LULAC) and the International Culture Team offered through the Office of International Students and Scholars.
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