Office of Minority Recruitment & Retention (OMRR)
New location—Miller 206!
With a focus on diversity and social justice, the UW College of Education Office of Minority Recruitment and Retention is committed to equity and access for all students by:
- Increasing the enrollment of students from historically underrepresented minority (URM) groups
- Increasing the retention and graduation rates of students from historically underrepresented minority groups
- Fostering an excellent and equitable educational and social learning environment that provides a welcoming and supportive climate for all College of Education students, faculty, and staff
- Engaging, building, and maintaining the College of Education in meaningful relationships across the UW campuses and in our local, regional, and national communities
Once again, OMRR is excited to invite you to visit us in our new home in the Office of Students Services suite in Miller 206. Cynthia is in 206C, and Liz and Cristina are in 206A. You will often find students meeting, eating lunch, and sometimes just quietly studying in OMRR. Stop by and say hello!
Recruitment Outcomes
We had a very busy and productive recruitment season! Many many thanks to the staff of OSS and OMRR. Liz and Cristina worked personally with over 60 students – that is a lot of students! OMRR had at least one contact with every student who identified as a student of color in our fantastic new prospective student database by December 4 – all 374 of them! If you are working with prospective students, please enter their information or ask them to enter their information into the prospective student database. (Maybe we should run a contest to come up with a clever name for the database)
Below are preliminary numbers for COE applicants.
2010 Applicants by Ethnicity |
2009 Applicants by Ethnicity |
||||
Ethnicity |
# Applicants |
% Applicants |
|
# Applicants |
% Applicants |
African American |
29 |
3% |
|
28 |
3% |
Asian American |
101 |
11% |
|
74 |
9% |
Hawaiian/Pacific Islander |
2 |
0% |
|
1 |
0% |
Hispanic |
59 |
7% |
|
52 |
6% |
Native American |
4 |
0% |
|
6 |
1% |
Caucasian |
580 |
65% |
|
594 |
68% |
International Students |
9 |
1% |
|
25 |
3% |
Other |
108 |
12% |
|
90 |
10% |
Total unique applicants |
892 |
|
|
870 |
|
Phone-a-thon!
As students of color are informed of their admission to the COE, they will receive calls from current COE students congratulating them and reminding/inviting admitted students to participate in Prospective Student Days, April 1-2, 2010. COE current students will answer questions, from a student perspective, about graduate life at the COE and the UW, as well as living in Seattle.
Prospective Student Days, April 1-2, 2010! In conjunction with GO-MAP, PSD is a series of events and opportunities for admitted students to network with other admitted students, as well as current students and faculty from the COE and various other departments and to learn about funding, housing, campus climate, and living in Seattle. Please visit the PSD webpage and note several COE events, at which we invite COE current student, faculty and staff participation, such as area information sessions, the Coffee Lounge, and COE Reception. Many thanks for helping us welcome our newly admitted students!
Retention Efforts
Coffee Tuesdays- every Tuesday! 3:30-5pm, 206 Conference Room
OMRR cultivates community among and between our students of color, international students and white students interested in diversity by offering opportunities to come together to relax, socialize and network, and Coffee Tuesday is one of our favorites! If you haven’t had a chance to attend OMRR Coffee Tuesdays to engage with our diverse student community, please make sure to stop by for coffee and snacks, but even more-to meet and connect with COE friends and colleagues.
International Student Group – did you know that the COE now has a registered International Student Group? Yes, we do! Many congratulations and thanks to Sharon Chang and Shu-Fei Tsai for their leadership and initiative in organizing the student group. For more information, please contact: sc84@u.washington.edu or sftsai@u.washington.edu.
International Students and Students of Color Potluck! May 12, 11:30-1:00 p.m., Miller 411
Mmmmm! That’s an amazing dish! Guess who made it? Celebrate COE International Students and Students of Color and enjoy homemade dishes whipped up by our very own. Take pleasure in the talented cooking skills of COE students, faculty and staff- all COE community are invited to participate! Take the opportunity to share great food, culture and friends during spring quarter. Don’t have time to make a dish – don’t worry – just come! There is always plenty of food! Mark your calendars for the International Student Potluck on May 12th from 11:30-1:00 p.m.
Mentoring - College of Education OMRR students at GO-MAP Reception*
COE OMRR Students/Students of Color in Action! Bridging the Pipeline in Education
More than a dozen COE OMRR students and students of color took on the task of mentoring undergraduate minority students at the 2010 Winter Quarter Mentoring and Networking Reception sponsored by GO-MAP in collaboration with the Ethnic Cultural Center, OMAD and other groups on campus. GO-MAP Winter Quarter Receptions focus on mentoring and extending the pipeline from undergraduate to graduate study.
COE students engaged with UW undergrads from underrepresented minority (URM) groups, providing informal advice for undergraduates regarding the who, what, why and how of graduate education and the ensuing professional opportunities. Conversations included information about application processes and valuable insights of the graduate school experience from the perspectives of students of color. *Although targeted towards URM students, all UW graduate students are invited to attend GO-MAP’s quarterly receptions, which offer opportunities for graduate students to connect, reconnect, and network across disciplines and campuses with other graduate students of color, faculty and staff.
All COE students, faculty and staff are invited to attend GO-MAP’s Spring Reception, April 1, 4-6pm, UW Club, during Prospective Student Days, to meet and welcome admitted graduate students.
Geoffrey Canada lecture - OMRR invited 20 COE students and a few of their mentees to sit together at the Geoffrey Canada lecture on February 9 in Kane Hall,. It was an engaging lecture by the founder of the Harlem Children’s Zone in NYC, who discussed issues of access and doing the “right thing” versus “doing things right,” maintaining that children who start life “behind” due to a lack of resources need to be provided with explicit actions and interventions on their behalf in their struggle for equity. It was a riveting lecture that hit home for many of our students.
Once again, please welcome our newly admitted students by attending as many Prospective Student Days events as possible!
Have a restful spring break!