NAACP, state lawmakers: UD is lacking diversity

DOVER – Delaware's flagship university is facing new questions about a lack of diversity on campus, with students, state lawmakers and civil rights leaders calling on the University of Delaware to do more to recruit and retain black students.

Richard Smith, president of the Delaware NAACP, wrote to university President Patrick Harker on Monday, saying the group is outraged by a "serious systemic problem regarding diversity" at the university. The problem "cries out for relief," Smith wrote.

Just over 5 percent of the University of Delaware's undergraduate students are black, a percentage that has fallen in recent years as the university has experienced enrollment growth.

"For students, it's easier to warm up to the college environment socially and academically if you see faces that look like yours," said Julian Jackson, 20, a University of Delaware sophomore from Philadelphia, who is black. "It can be hard to approach people. It can be hard to ask for help if you feel like a sore thumb, if you're ostracized because of your skin color."

Harker responded to diversity concerns Monday during a General Assembly budget hearing at Legislative Hall.

Committee members had also received a letter from Newark branch of the NAACP on Sunday that highlighted the "lack of racial diversity" on the university's campus.

"In all candor, this has been a long-standing issue for the University of Delaware. It's an issue that we need to continue to plug away at," Harker said. "It's not something we're going to solve overnight."

In 2004, 5.6 percent of the university's 15,580 undergraduate students were black. By 2013, the university had 16,846 undergraduate students, but the percentage of the student population who were black had fallen to 5.1 percent. Just over 2 percent of university faculty are black.

Twenty-two percent of Delaware's population was black in 2013, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

There's also a disparity in graduation rates between white and black students.

Sen. Harris McDowell, a Wilmington Democrat and co-chair of the budget committee, said the university's record on diversity is "disappointing."

"The data is very discouraging," McDowell said.

Budget committee member Rep. James "J.J." Johnson, a New Castle Democrat, said the university must work harder to close the racial gap.

"They should be reaching out to the minority communities in the state," Johnson said.

Jackson, the sophomore from Philadelphia, praised Harker for using the #VoicesofUDel campaign to bring attention to campus diversity and discrimination. But there are other times when the school administration has "avoided the issue," he said.

Jasmine Anthony, 21, a junior at the school who is helping re-activate an NAACP chapter on campus, said the university should do more to promote diversity. Anthony said university officials should admit more minority students, offer additional financial aid targeted toward minorities and mandate through coursework that students work together with students of different races and ethnic backgrounds.

"My biggest concern is how does the University of Delaware plan to retain the minorities they have admitted?" said

Anthony said she has witnessed ugly behavior on campus, including students yelling racial slurs while she was walking to the gym.

"UD is very proud of its diversity," she said. "It just doesn't feel very comfortable to be a minority here at times."

University students have attempted to bring attention to racial disparities. In December, students staged peaceful protests after police-involved killings in Ferguson, Missouri and Staten Island, New York.

But there have also been ugly moments.

Last September, racist remarks were posted on social media after a football game between the University of Delaware and Delaware State University, a historically black college.

The comments, which attacked Delaware State's predominantly black student population, sparked outrage on both campuses.

"It's really affecting us a great deal," said Ayanna Gill, a junior communications major, said of racial disparities on campus. "And nothing is really being done by the administration to deal with it and effectively implement change."

Contact Jonathan Starkey at (302) 983-6756, on Twitter @jwstarkey or at jstarkey@delawareonline.com. Contact Jon Offredo at (302) 678-4271, on Twitter @JonOffredo or joffredo@delawareonline.com.