University of Virginia Is a Leader in Black Enrollments, But Dean of African-American Affairs Says More Should Be Done

This past fall the University of Virginia ranked first in the annual JBHE survey on the percentage of black first-year students at the nation’s 30 highest-ranked universities. There are 360 black freshmen at the university this fall, making up 11.4 percent of the entering class.

But Maurice Apprey, professor of psychiatric medicine and dean of the university’s Office of African-American Affairs, is not satisfied. In a report to the university, Dean Apprey noted that the grade point averages and graduation rates of black students at the university continue to lag those of white students. According to JBHE’s latest statistics, the average black graduation rate at the University of Virginia over the past four years has been 87 percent. For whites, the rate is 93 percent.

Dr. Apprey also noted that there are only 17 black graduate students in the university’s McIntire School of Commerce and only 37 black students in the medical school. Both numbers are far too low, according to Apprey.