Low black enrollment may boost PSU tuition
By LaVerna Fountain
The low enrollment of blacks at
Penn State University may result
in Capitol Campus students pay
ing higher tuition.
President John Oswald stated
that if Penn State does not
receive the $14.6 million increase
in state aid (which is five times
more than Governor Dick Thorn
burgh recommended), the tuition
cost may increase by more than
five percent.
Several legislators have criticiz
ed Penn State’s low enrollment of
blacks, and have warned Oswald
not to even count on the gover
nor’s proposed funding level.
“I’d hate to think this
legislative body, because of non
compliance and foot dragging,
might have to punish Penn
State,” Rep. Edward Wiggins
threatened.
Blacks account for 1400 of the
University’s 56,500 resident
undergraduates. This 2.5 percent
enrollment interestingly matches
Capitol Campus’ low enrollment
of 48 black undergraduates out of
1800 undergraduate students, or
2.7 percent.
Oswald contends that during
his 13 year tenure, he has made
great efforts to recruit more black
students and faculty members.
“As a satelite campus,
it is difficult recruiting
blacks.’ *
Mary Gundel
Director of Admissns.
Citing the establishment of the
Paul Roberson Cultural Center,
Black Scholars Scholarship Pro
gram, and the President’s Oppor
tunity Fund to attract black facul
ty by increasing salary offerings,
Oswald asked the legislative body
to appropriate the money based
on his “good intentions” and not
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the actual recruitment.
It is unlikely that the House of
Representatives will decide in
favor of the $14.6 million based
on intentions. As Robert Col
eman, Chairman of the Penn
sylvania Equal Rights Council
puts it, “You can’t measure in
tention, but you can measure
results.”
“I’d hate to think this legisltive body, because of non
compliance and foot-dragging, might have to punish
Penn State.”
Mafy Gundel, Director of Ad
missions for Capitol Campus,
said, “As a satellite campus, it'is
difficult recruiting blacks. We
have several programs to recruit
blacks, but we,don’t want to
compete with the main campus.
Because most of our students
come from within a fifty mile
radius, we concentrate our
recruitment efforts on the com
munity colleges and surrounding
areas.”
There are many excuses for the
low enrollment of blacks. Most
blacks attending the main campus
cited low black faculty members.
Oswald cites the rural setting of
the main campus for low
enrollment.
A massive study, done by
James E. Blackwell, Professor of
Sociology at the University of
Massachusetts, found that the
single most important factor in
recruiting, keeping, and
graduating black students is the
presence of black faculty in more
than token numbers.
Blackwell says the absence of
significant numbers of black
faculty and black students “may
suggest lack of institutional com
mitment to equality of employ
ment and educational opportunity
as well as a negative institutional
climate.”
Penn State faculty and ad
ministrators interviewed recently
in the wake of renewed controver
sy about the status of blacks at
the University offer two reasons
for the University’s low percen
tage of blacks on staff and in
class.
- blacks find Penn State’s main
Rep. Edward Wiggins
campus in Centre County unat
tractive because it is rural.
a higher proportion of blacks
than whites leave Penn State
before graduating, which keeps
the proportion of blacks low.
Using the first excuse of the
rural setting of the main campus
can be refuted for two reasons; 1)
such a statement infers that
blacks are unwilling to defer
gratification of the urban lifestyle
to obtain a better lifestyle in the
future, and 2) each of the 13 - ,*
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satellite campuses have approx
imately the same low black enroll
ment - 2.5 percent. Blacks offer
other reasons for the higher drop
out rate and lower enrollment.
- black faculty membership is
low.
-- the university has shown no
real financial commitment to ex
panding its black enrollment and
staff.
- blacks feel unwelcome at Penn
State and encounter problems that
range from feeling that the pro
fessors expect them to fail
academically to attitudes of white
student hostility or a simple lack
of undestanding of those with a
different cultural background.
- the absence of cultural and
recreational activities of interest
to blacks rather than the rural
setting, leads to a sense of isola
tion for blacks.
Regardless of the good inten
tions of both Capitol Campus
and the Main Campus, the fact
remains-that if black enrollment
does not increase, it is doubtful
that Penn State will obtain the
desired funding from the state.
Without this funding, students on
all Penn State University cam
puses will be paying more for
tuition.
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