Highest priority should be given to examining and reorganizing the entire student recruitment process while recognizing the uniqueness of diverse communities. All recruiters should be responsible for recruitment of students of color with some having a specialized focus. Unit-based recruiters need to be better coordinated and should be expected to participate in diversity efforts. All recruitment programs need to be examined for adequate diversity of personnel and appeal. Current programs like the McNair Fellows and the Summer Minority Doctoral Fellows Program should be continued and expanded.
More attention needs to be paid to student retention.
The peer student mentoring program, which has been quite successful, should be expanded to reach all marginalized students, and MSS and other units need to have the funding to design and implement strong retention programs, and to be held accountable for meeting their program goals. The suggested relocation of MSS and SALC to the Student Commons should enhance retention efforts. Limited diversity in the curriculum creates an unfriendly climate for faculty and students of color and other marginalized groups, makes retention more difficult, and impoverishes the educational mission for all students. Additional diversity courses in the undergraduate curriculum should be encouraged, and graduate programs should address diversity in their training. In addition, all teaching assistants should be required to learn how to teach diversity issues and understand the diverse needs of students.