Category: Uncategorized

(this post is part of the Stand Up For Choice BlogBurst)

I support the March for Women’s Lives

on April 25,

2004 in Washington DC

New Position to Aid Student Retention
By Bart Shirley

Multicultural

Services is seeking to fill the position of assistant director, formerly known as coordinator of

student retention, who will be in charge of student success programs.

Student success

programs are efforts by the Multicultural Services office to aid all freshmen in their pursuit of

graduation, said Megan Palsa, assistant director of Multicultural Services. They offer a year-long

program that provides transitional help to new students.

“(The new administrator will)

look at all the data to see where we’re headed, ” Palsa said. Retention has long been a concern for

Texas A&M. Though 16 percent of the student body is composed of minority students, A&M still has

trouble shedding its homogenous image in the minds of prospective students, said Mark Weichold,

associate provost for undergraduate programs and academic services.
“Historically, from retention

and graduation rates, students of color are lower,” Palsa said.

Minority students are

statistically more at risk than white students of never crossing the stage at Reed Arena, Palsa said.

Sixty-five percent of minority students entering A&M eventually graduate, compared with 77 percent of

white students.
“Clearly, there’s no one answer,” Weichold said. “Some of the answers are not

just academic. It’s going to take the collaboration of many offices on

campus.”

Weichold said his office is working to get an indication of students who are

at risk for not returning for their sophomore year. His office is using several assessment tools, such

as the CSI and the NSE, to make that determination. Many programs exist to assist in retention

alongside the Multicultural Services office, he said.

“The Multicultural Services has

been a big part of our retention efforts,” Weichold said.
The discrepancy in student retention is

also one of the reasons for the hiring of the new vice president for diversity, Dr. James A. Anderson,

Palsa said.

“Dr. Anderson will work with Multicultural Services,” said Rodney

McClendon, chief of staff. “He will (also) be working with all colleges in regard to retention.”

Harvey

Kronberg notes that several headlines in Texas (and apparently on television, too) announced the death

of Robin Hood after yesterday’s ruling. So while media outside the state ignored the story, media in

Texas misrepresented it. But it was not difficult to see this one coming. Most pre-ruling reports

about the trial lumped all the plaintiffs together into an anti-Robin Hood pack, without distinguishing

between property-rich plaintiffs and property-poor intervenors. “It’s broke,” was the usual depth

of analysis given to the school funding crisis. Then, after weeks of mostly empty press galleries, it

was a perfect storm of media yesterday. Should I mention the name of the television reporter who

actually closed his eyes and seemed to fall dead asleep behind the cameras? Naw, that would be too

cruel.

‘Defeat ignorance, support diversity’
Hundreds of students, faculty and

staff
attend rally to promote diversity
By Anthony Woolstrum
Published: Thursday,

February 19, 2004
—–Caption—–
Michael Jackson (left), class of 1988, and Thomas

Spellman, class of 1986, hold hands in front of the Academic Building in support of the march Wednesday

afternoon. The march through campus was organized by the members of the Faculty Committed to an

Inclusive Campus and included a rally at Rudder Fountain. (Photo by John C. Livas / The

Battalion) “Aggies are diverse; we are diverse.”

This statement and others were

chanted Wednesday afternoon as hundreds of Texas A&M faculty, staff, students and members of the Bryan

-College Station community gathered for a rally sponsored by the Faculty Committed to an Inclusive

Campus (FCIC) to promote diversity on campus.

“We have to make sure that we represent

Texas A&M to the outside community the way we want to be represented,” said James Anderson, vice

president for diversity.