The Greater Phoenix Urban League, a civil rights organization focused on economic empowerment for underserved urban communities, chose ASU to receive the 2014 Whitney M. Young Jr. Award, according to a university statement.
The local organization has recognized ASU’s efforts toward fostering a more ethnically and racially inclusive university, but while the university is making strides towards a more diverse student body, some say there is still progress to be made.
The Whitney M. Young Jr. Award, which will be formally awarded to ASU in a ceremony on May 8, is given to both a corporation and an individual in the community who have made efforts “in promoting and celebrating diversity, racial harmony, and social and economic equality,” according to the GUPL website.
The Whitney M. Young Jr. Award is the highest honor granted by the Greater Phoenix Urban League. The corporate award honors corporations that exemplify Young’s values of equality and inclusion to improve corporate and community life, according to George Dean, CEO of the Greater Phoenix Urban League.
“To have selected ASU for the 2014 award was a, was really a no brainer when we think of what ASU has done under the leadership of Dr. Crow and what it is continuing to do,” Dean said.
Dean said a variety of factors were considered when choosing ASU. President Michael Crow’s ideal of inclusion under the New American University standard, ASU’s economic impact, as well as the increase of minority enrollment and availability since 2002 were a few of the factors Dean mentioned.
Since 2002, the university has experienced a 127 percent increase from 1,641 to 3,720 minority students who graduate with a bachelor’s degree, according to the statement.
As of fall 2013, the Downtown Campus has a Hispanic/Latino representation of 22.9 percent of students, followed by 7 percent Black/African-American students, 4.2 percent Asian students, and 2.1 percent American-Indian/Alaskan native students, according to data compiled by the University Office of Institutional Analysis.
In some of these categories, the Downtown Campus reflects a more diverse student population than the university as a whole. As of fall 2013, the university has a total of Hispanic/Latino students 18.1 percent, 4.8 percent Black/African-American students, and 1.5 percent American-Indian/-Alaskan Native students, according to the University office of Institutional Analysis.
ASU has also seen an increase in the number of minority faculty that it employs, according to the statement.
Journalism student Juan Magana, who is involved with the National Association of Hispanic Journalists, said it’s still hard to find diversity at the university.
“You really have to search for it,” he said. “Sometimes it could be a struggle.”
Magana said he feels ASU has “done an OK job,” but there is room for improvement.
Eduardo Pagan, vice provost and associate professor for Academic Excellence and Inclusion, also said the university has room for improvement. When comparing the student population to the population of Arizona, Pagan said the ratios don’t always match.
“We have done very, very well, but certainly there are areas of improvement,” Pagan said. “Across the board we have room for improvement.”
The university will continue the efforts to create a diverse institution, Pagan said.
“One of our core values is the idea of access,” Pagan said. “We are going to continue along this path of providing access for everybody, which then will include a diverse student body. Everybody that wants to, you know, have that opportunity will have that opportunity.”
An inclusive and diverse environment benefits the student body in the long run, Pagan said, and provides educational opportunities students can draw on outside their university experience.
“I would say that for all students, it is an invaluable education to learn from people who come from very different backgrounds because when you leave ASU that’s exactly the world you’re going to encounter,” Pagan said. “By having these experiences now, they just empower you to operate effectively in a very diverse environment.”
The university, as a public institution, functions to serve the people of Arizona, Pagan said. ASU provides an array of opportunities, including faculty, staff and student organizations as well as affiliations with institutions in Arizona, that promote that inclusion and diversity, he said.
“At the end of the day, what we value as an institution, as ASU, is really you and your education and how prepared you are going to be when you leave here to make your own mark in the world, and being exposed to a variety of people is going to ultimately, I think, be in your favor,” Pagan said.
Contact the reporter at emily.achondo@asu.edu.
