University to keep summer program for minorities

COLUMBIA, Mo. -- The University of Missouri at Columbia is sticking by its Transitions program for incoming minority students, even as other schools change or eliminate their programs.

"The Transitions program is specially designed to increase diversity on campus," deputy chancellor Mike Middleton said. "I am committed to continuing these programs until the courts tell us they're inappropriate.

"As of now, the law of the land is that these kinds of programs that consider race and ethnicity for the purpose of enhancing our legitimate and compelling interest in diversity on this campus are appropriate," Middleton said.

Princeton University and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology recently said they would eliminate -- or open to all students -- summer programs that previously were offered to minority students.

Legal groups opposed to affirmative action had sent those universities letters accusing them of discriminating against white students.

Began in 1994

Missouri's Transitions program has been in place since 1994. Up to 35 black, Hispanic or American Indian students are invited each summer for a six-week program involving math and English classes and cultural and social events.

The university pays the students' room and board and tuition, provides a stipend and offers those who complete the program a $2,500 scholarship.

The students help each other once they join the larger student body in the fall, Middleton said, which helps limit the isolation that minority students often feel on a mostly white campus.

Other applicants who have missed meeting Missouri's admission standards also may participate in a special summer enrichment program, Middleton said. But those students must pay for their own room and board and tuition, and do not receive a scholarship at the end.

Truman State University in Kirksville, Mo., has offered a five-week Scholastic Enhancement Experience for the past 10 summers, but it is not race-specific.

Truman's admissions officers identify students whose backgrounds indicate they may need extra help to succeed.

Thirteen to 16 students then come to the campus for college course and study skills seminars before beginning their freshman year.

Most, but not all, of the students who participate are minorities, said Bertha Thomas, Truman's interim assistant dean for multicultural affairs.

"We have found it is a helpful program. One way to introduce incoming students to the academic rigor of Truman is to start with a smaller, more nurturing environment," Thomas said.