Chronicle of Higher Education cites UMaine for positive reflection of underrepresented-minority populations

​In a ​Sept. 20 ​Chronicle of Higher Education listing, “Do Freshmen at Flagships Reflect Underrepresented-Minority Populations of States?” the University of Maine was first with a 0.7 percentage-point difference​, followed by West Virginia University​ with 0.4 percentage-point difference​, based on 2017 enrollments. The Chronicle noted: “Only two of the leading public institutions for each state had a percentage of underrepresented minorities among domestic, full-time, first-time freshmen that even slightly exceeded the estimated percentage of those minorities among 17- to 21-year-old residents of that state. The other 48 flagship universities had negative percentage-point differences, meaning their fall 2017 adjusted entering-student cohorts fell short of being as representative of underrepresented minorities as were state representatives in that age group.” Since 2010, UMaine has taken strides to reach an increasing number of students from outside M​ai​ne. The percentage of students from out of state increased from 21% in 2010 to 46% in 2018. The broader reach has, in turn, increased the diversity of ​the UMaine community. The percentage of incoming first-year, full-time students who indicated their ethnicity and identified as an underrepresented minority student increased from 4% in 2010 to 8% in 2018​ — an increase of 95 students. The largest increase ​wa​s seen in the Hispanic population: In 2018, 5% of students who indicated their ethnicity were Hispanic, compared with only 2% in 2010. “The University of Maine and the University of Maine at Machias are committed to demonstrating excellence in inclusivity on our campuses and in our campus culture,” says Robert Dana, UMaine vice president for student life and dean of students. “We encourage and support all members of our university communities to make this a welcoming and inclusive environment where diversity — in all its forms — is valued and central to all our efforts.”