On the 24th of February, an opinion was voiced by a student at a luncheon with UM-System President Gary Forsee that the UM-St. Louis needs more African American faculty members. Research into this subject has shown that the university actually has a higher number of African Americans on their faculty than any school in the Midwest. That student also brought up the issue of retention of African American students and whether or not more African American faculty members would help retain such students.

According to the university’s website, 20 percent of the student body at UM-St. Louis is African American; whether that percentage is too low is a matter of opinion. According to Alan Byrd, Director of Admissions at UM-St. Louis, about 9 percent of the faculty at the university is African American.

Byrd’s records read that 39 percent of UM-St. Louis graduates from 2001-2007 were African American. The general consensus seems to be that hiring more African American faculty members will not increase the numbers or in fact affect them in any way—Byrd says it is about interaction.

“If [students and faculty] were more connected, we would see a greater increase in retention,” Byrd said.

He pointed out that faculty has done things from “departmental pizza parties” to the Mentor Program to better interact with students.

“We need to know we’re meeting their needs and they need to know if they are meeting our expectations,” Byrd said.

The numbers show that the university has much to be proud of in regards to diversity. According to Byrd, more targeted efforts are needed to connect the students with the faculty, but UM-St. Louis does have potential in this area, and there is always room for improvement. So do students need to connect better with faculty?

The university has many ethnicities in the student body, students from some 68 countries according to its website.

“Diversity goes far beyond race,” Byrd said. “International students need the same type of support [as American students].”

Facts show that UM-St. Louis is a widely diverse institution of higher learning both in the student body as well as the faculty. Everyone has their own ideas about what needs examining or changing, some having to do with diversity and some not.

The university’s website says, “The University of Missouri-St. Louis is committed to maintaining a welcoming environment for all and will assume an expanded role as a valuable resource for work around social justice.”

It is up to the university’s community to decide if this commitment is being met.