University of Arkansas Looks to Increase African-American Enrollments by Enhancing Its Black Studies Program

The University of Arkansas is boosting the budget for its black studies program in an effort to attract more African-American students to campus. At the current time, blacks are 5.5 percent of the student body at the Fayetteville campus, about one third of the percentage of blacks in the state’s population.

The program’s budget will be increased 24 percent for the coming academic year with similar increases planned for the next several years. Charles F. Robinson II, a professor of history and director of the black studies program, hopes to raise a $5 million endowment and offer a black studies major in the near future.

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