Recruiting and counseling people of color at Western universities

Abstract

This article focuses on the mernitment and retention of students of color in Western universities. It highlights concepts and strategies which have been effective in recruiting and counseling students who are racial minorities. The content is based on the author's experience in practice over the past six years and is supported by literature, empirical data, and interviews. Vignettes related to work done with students of color are incorporated within the body of the paper.Although the article is derived from workthe author has performed at an American university, the implications and conclusions of that work should be of interest to all Western institutions of higher learning that recruit and want to retain students of color in their respective academic environments. The role of multiethnic education in anglo-centric schools is to open and broaden the world view ofthe participants in these schools, to enable students and professionals to become aware of just how unrepresentative and atypical their social reality is, and to encourage them to become actively engaged in learning about and learning from the many different cultural heritages that make up America [and the world]. (Howard, 1981, p. 119.)