YSU Emphasis on minority recruitment is reflected in enrollment numbers

The increase was fueled mostly at the undergraduate level.
YOUNGSTOWN -- Minority enrollment at Youngstown State University hit a record 13.7 percent this semester, the university reported.
Diversity was even better among undergraduates: 14.2 percent, or 1,682 students.
Altogether, 13,101 students were registered in the fall.
Minority enrollment has been rising steadily from less than 11 percent in 2000.
"I believe this is due to the priority that we have placed in making YSU reflect the community in which it is located," said YSU President Dr. David Sweet.
Blacks make up more than 80 percent of the minority students.
Declining
On a less positive note, the number of minority graduate students has declined two years in a row and now stands at just 8.4 percent, the university reported.
YSU's total enrollment is 7,390 women and 5,711 men. Women predominate in the colleges of Education, Health and Human Services and Fine and Performing Arts. Men predominate in Arts and Sciences, Business Administration and Engineering.
Sweet has made minority recruitment a top priority, and YSU has run an extensive advertising campaign on black radio stations, according to Leon Stennis, coordinator of diversity initiatives at YSU.