The percentage of the state of Oregon’s nonwhite population grew by two points between 2000 and 2005, according to new U.S. Census Bureau data. During that same period, the University’s nonwhite student population grew by less than 1 percentage point.
The nonwhite community now stands at 18.5 percent of Oregon’s total population, ranking it 31st in the nation in the category. Meanwhile, the percentage of nonwhite students at the University is 13.6 percent.
Latino communities contributed largely to the state’s growth trend, as they now make up approximately 10 percent of Oregon’s total population, according to the data.
Charles Martinez, vice provost for institutional equity and diversity at the University, said the growing Latino population in Oregon is particularly evident in the state’s K-12 public school system, which he said has seen more than 200 percent growth in the past 10 years. He said the University’s data should correspond.
“That’s a really important context of change in Oregon,” Martinez said. “That same kind of steep change should be evident in our data.”
Martinez said the University’s Latino population is significantly less than the rest of the state’s.
“It certainly hasn’t grown nearly as steeply,” he said.
In trying to bring the University’s diversity up to the state’s level, Martinez emphasized that the goal is not to aspire to a specific quota or statistic, but rather to provide better access to the institution and education for groups that don’t reach college as often as others.
Martinez said the University’s best chance to provide better assistance to any struggling groups is through outreach programs like college counseling. The earlier the age they receive help, he said, the better the chance for success.
“I think we need to work much earlier in the pipeline, including middle school,” Martinez said. “It requires a lot of partnership with the K-12 system.”
Martinez said there are several reasons for Oregon’s rapidly rising nonwhite population. He said higher birthrates and immigration patterns could be contributing to the trend. He also said a lot of groups, particularly Latino populations, are beginning to form a more stable sense of community in the state and are allowing later arrivals to join an already established community more easily than before.
“I think we’re seeing a lot of that in Oregon,” Martinez said.
Washington’s data showed a similar trend for the first half of the decade, also rising by two percentage points. The nonwhite community now makes up 23 percent of Washington’s total population.
Assistant Vice Provost for Institutional Equity and Diversity Emilio Hernandez, who also worked in the University’s high school program for 12 years before taking his current position in January, said Oregon’s numbers of increased diversity are also factors for determining the University’s curriculum. He said accommodating to minority groups’ needs is crucial to their success.
But more important than that, he said, is getting them there first.
“Our whole education system, including K-12, is going to have to work together to prepare these groups when they hit that line,” Hernandez said.
Hernandez said the University had not yet received demographic data describing this fall’s incoming freshman class, but estimated that its nonwhite population would still be a lower percentage than the statewide figure.