A Catholic College in New Hampshire Looks to Double Black Enrollments

Blacks make up a mere one percent of the 2,000-member student body at Saint Anselm College in a Benedictine educational institution in Manchester, New Hampshire. But the president of the college, the Rev. Jonathan DeFelice, is committed to change.

Reverend DeFelice has vowed to double black enrollments. To do so, he has created a new post with the title, assistant to the president for inclusiveness. He has created faculty positions in African history and African-American literature. About a dozen courses are being offered this semester that fit into his “inclusiveness” directive. He has sent admissions officers to inner-city schools in Nashua, Concord, and Manchester in an effort to increase black applicants. And he applied for a state grant that will allow the college to conduct financial aid seminars that will be particularly helpful to black and other minority students.

Copyright © 2008. The Journal of Blacks in Higher Education. All rights reserved.