NASHVILLE Tenn.
Universities across Tennessee are taking steps to recruit more Hispanics to diversify their student bodies, officials say.
A recent study showed nearly half of Hispanic undergraduates attend about 8 percent of universities in the United States.
The study, conducted by Washington-based Excelencia in Education, a Hispanic issues think tank, found that Hispanic undergraduates were concentrated in the country’s universities where at least 25 percent of undergraduates are Hispanic.
None of those is in Tennessee.
To remedy that, university officials have hired Hispanic advisers, increased visibility in the Hispanic community and begun contacting prospective students earlier in their careers even before they reach high school.
The initiatives are welcome news for students like Alejandra Gonzalez, who left her hometown of El Paso, Texas for Vanderbilt University this fall.
