FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

LOYOLA MARYMOUNT UNIVERSITY ANNOUNCES SPECIAL DIVERSITY INITIATIVES
'People often talk about how to attract a diverse student body, but then don't talk as much about what we need to do when they arrive on campus,' says LMU President Robert B. Lawton, SJ

March 29, 2004 – Loyola Marymount University in Los Angeles has recently undertaken a number of distinctive, proactive measures to enhance academic achievement and the educational experience of traditionally underrepresented students. The new measures are the result of a special benchmarking study on diversity, submitted today to LMU President Robert B. Lawton, SJ.

Among the initiatives that are underway at LMU are: enhanced outreach to Asian/Pacific Americans in admissions recruiting, new goals for retention of African American entering students, and special efforts to gain greater representation by Latino students in certain degree programs.

"This effort is extremely important to our community," said Lawton. "We want this institution to reflect the world's wonderful diversity of backgrounds, cultures, and ethnicity in everything we do. The study has created important benchmarks and established new goals that we can manage toward in achieving that diversity."

The study, also presented today to LMU leadership, consists of 10 "Diversity Scorecards," on strategic units within the University. Based on data from 2001-2003, the scorecard initiative created various measures of diversity of the LMU overall student population and pointed out areas in which there were gaps in representation. For example, the study pointed out that Latino students are less likely than other students to major in Communication and Fine Arts at LMU. The University is, as part of the Diversity Scorecard project, designing special recruitment and retention efforts for students in communication and fine arts.

Other new initiatives recommended by the report include: asking the University to achieve proportional representation by all students in the Fulbright program and LMU's Honors Program; enhancing faculty diversity in the Graduate School of Education through special recruitment measures; and a recommendation to create a new pre-college bridge program for the Frank R. Seaver College of Science and Engineering.

The LMU Diversity Scorecard project was coordinated by Abbie Robinson-Armstrong, assistant to the president for intercultural affairs, who was joined by Brian Hu, director of institutional research, David Killoran, professor of English, and Marshall Sauceda, associate dean of ethnic and Intercultural services.

Institutional Commitment
In 2001, LMU's Board of Trustees embedded a university-wide commitment to diversity and interculturalism in its 10-year strategic plan: "...diversity is critical to academic excellence and the promotion of a civil society...LMU will seek to create a more vibrant student culture through an enhanced intellectual environment, a strong intercultural curriculum, and improved student services." The strategic plan thus links excellence and diversity, and challenges the entire campus community to promote excellence in teaching, scholarship, and creativity.

"People often talk about how to attract a diverse student body, but then don't talk as much about what we need to do when they arrive on campus," says President Robert B. Lawton, SJ. "It is critical to create the atmosphere where people feel encouraged to learn from different viewpoints. I believe strongly in programs that encourage people to listen to each other, to speak about their experiences, and then, through that, to learn to live together and to tackle the problems of the larger world together. This makes diversity at a university come alive."

Also in 2001, Lawton created the position of assistant to the president for intercultural affairs, naming Robinson-Armstrong – a nationally recognized leader in the field – to the position. Robinson-Armstrong led the team that conducted the research and analysis, developed the new programs, and authored a grant proposal, "Linking the Intercultural Campus," which resulted in a three-year, $900,000 award from The James Irvine Foundation to support the university's progressive diversity initiatives. These initiatives include programs designed to improve underrepresented-student retention, graduation, and preparation for graduate programs; to enhance students' cultural identities and intercultural skills; to transform core curriculum; and to diversify faculty, staff, and the Board of Trustees.

"The Diversity Scorecard Project is a wonderful opportunity for LMU to be one of a handful of universities in the nation to productively address diversity issues in ways that produce tangible results," said Robinson-Armstrong.

About Loyola Marymount University in Los Angeles
Founded in 1911, Loyola Marymount University in Los Angeles is the eighth largest of the nation's 28 Jesuit colleges and universities and the largest Catholic university in Southern California. With a strong base in the liberal arts, LMU serves more than 5,300 undergraduates and about 3,000 graduate students. The University consists of four colleges: the Bellarmine College of Liberal Arts, the College of Business Administration, the College of Communication and Fine Arts, and the Frank R. Seaver College of Science and Engineering, as well as the School of Education, the School of Film and Television, the Graduate Division, LMU Extension, and Loyola Law School. For more information, visit the LMU website at www.lmu.edu.

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