That was the point I was trying to make…the vision the administration, Board and student body are actively working towards. And that mindset and level of acceptance are evident on campus and making a difference in the student makeup. These changes do not happen overnight, but happily they are moving in the right direction. And not only with racial diversity. I’m glad you felt that way on your visit; my kid feels that way in day to day life.
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Seems like yield is worse among students of color if the percentage falls from 31% of admits to 22% of matriculants. This may be especially concerning to the school administration if this is despite trying to lure students of color with full ride Johnson scholarships.
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I guess we’ll see once we know the 2023 enrollment numbers since you are comparing 2023 admits to 2022 enrollment.
The Johnson is not only given to students of color so it is difficult to use that as a measure for the yield of POC. Plus diversity is more than just race. The Johnson is a merit scholarship, but I’ve been told there is an unofficial goal of using 50% of the offers to support diversity goals (that could be URM, SES, religion, ECs, etc. to foster a more diverse student body). Conversely there are the other 50% of Johnson scholars who do not necessarily meet any diversity goals.
I think everyone hopes the POC enrollment will continue to increase. As long as it continues to increase each year as it has been that has to be viewed as a positive. That does not mean it is where we would like it to be yet. Nor does it mean that W&L is the right fit for every student. But for those that it is a good fit, it can be a very special place.
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We are nonwhite, and looked at W&L for S22 when he was initially considering majoring in political science. The location made it a tough proposition for us. This, more than anything else, may be a factor inhibiting POC enrollment. Bucknell and Kenyon on the list above are similar in terms of being far away from metro areas, and show similar POC enrollment characteristics. Overseas students seem to constitute a sizable proportion of students at Carleton, Grinnell and Oberlin.
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Every small LAC we looked at (2 kids so 5 and 8 years ago) in PA and VA had about these same stats for racial diversity.
At one rural-ish PA school, the student tour guide said the school was “very diverse”. It was 76% white. From where I come from, that is not diverse. But where she came from (probably rural-ish PA, it very well could have been).
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“Some 18,210 Black students graduated from Virginia public high
schools in 2020, and yet Washington and Lee enrolled just four Black
freshmen from Virginia this past fall, which was an improvement from
2018, when it enrolled just one.”
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I don’t know about the enrolled numbers by state. I’m sure VA residents may find those numbers disappointing, but many private universities give no preference to “in-state” students like a public university would.
I do know W&L is actively working to increase diversity in the student body including enrollment of more POC (edit: especially Black students where the most improvement is needed) and are making improvements each year. It is a work in process and there is more work to be done.
Edit: I just glanced at the article but I see it does mention social mobility as well. W & L is ranked highly on lists for social mobility. Again, I have no data on a state by state basis.
But can it get over the negative marketing that its name makes with respect to Black and other minority students, likely resulting in lower application volume and yield among such students?
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That is not a question for me. All I can say is they are working on it and putting big money behind it at all levels from hiring to programming.
Are you saying they should not make those efforts?
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Perhaps they should look again to see if changing the name would be a less expensive way to make the school more attractive to Black and other minority students.
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That is another conversation and was covered extensively a couple years ago. I made my opinion known in another thread discussing it.
At this point, I personally find it more productive to look forward and concentrate on areas where progress may be made (which does include efforts to encourage a more diverse student body), to celebrate the positives (and there are many), and to engage with others who are actually interested in the university and its students. W & L is currently ranked highly for having Happy Students and I hope it stays that way.
Edit: I’m afraid this is veering off topic (and I contributed) which as I understand it is to share personal impressions from campus visits. I’m happy to continue in a new thread.
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There is so much to like about W&L, but my politically moderate child abhorred and completely dismissed the thought of attending a college named after Robert E Lee.
Not sure how they will overcome that association as monuments fall across the south.
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I’m not sure how much marketing W&L does in State. I have lived here since I was 10 years old, drove by it on my way to/from college for 4 years, and only heard of it when one of my S’s teachers was an alum and took him to visit. And I am college educated. If I hadn’t heard of it, I’m sure I’m not alone. Most people here just apply to the publics. We have so many that cover various levels of rigor.
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The name is a tough issue. I think in time it may change. It’s odd that we don’t have these conversations about names like Duke and Yale - many more universities with associations. Let’s work to be open and start conversations about the good and bad in each school’s history and move into better futures.
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Exactly. Or Amherst, who’s namesake intentionally committed genocide by giving smallpox-laden blankets to Native Americans. 'Extirpate this execrable race': The dark history of Jeffery Amherst | CBC News
No doubt the name is problematic and deters some great students from applying. But by itself it is a superficial fix. I am encouraged and happy with the nonsuperficial fixes the University has been pursuing, which I’ve enumerated in other posts. (The Delaney Center for Southern Race Relations, Politics and Culture DeLaney Center, the diversity that’s increasing at a rapid pace, the Shepard Prgram in Poverty Studies, the smaller things, like the orientation option of going on a civil rights tour of some iconic locations in the South, the renaming of the Chapel (where Lee is buried), the appointment of a Director
of Institutional History The Columns » Lynn Rainville Named Director of Institutional History at Washington and Lee » Washington and Lee University etc).
In some ways W&L has more to overcome, and I believe they are doing more, as a result, than most institutions.
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@cinnamon1212 This is the impression we received as well after spending two days on campus, hence the original post. There was a significant POC presence among the admitted students and their families, and from what I was told from a couple of families, they are backing up these actions with aid packages. Still not sure if DC ends up there (“2000 kids is a really small student population”) but it’s clear that the effort to evolve is there.
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Probably because most students have heard of Robert E. Lee as the Confederate who surrendered at the end of the Civil War, but some of those other people with ugly histories are rarely named in K-12 history classes.
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Same - she was heavily recruited for soccer and they have a solid program and many other things on paper made it seemingly a great fit but she couldn’t stomach the idea of the historical past and the refusal to remove the name and images
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Interesting sub-topic, perhaps worth a thread of its own. I’ll simply add that few T20 colleges had a bigger “name problem” than Wesleyan University coming out of WWII, when any college associated with Methodism was assumed to be populated by anti-evolution zealots (the judge who presided over the Scopes “Monkey Trial” a generation earlier and portrayed by Harry Morgan in the 1950s movie, “Inherit the Wind”, was a Tennessee Wesleyan graduate.) It took a financial windfall, the active cooperation of virtually every influential alum as well as the guidance of a gifted president to transform its public perception to what it is today. Source: Wesleyan University, 1910–1970: Academic Ambition and Middle-Class America: Potts, David B.: 9780819575197: Amazon.com: Books
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It is unfortunate but understandable that the name keeps some students from applying or even looking into the realities of the university today. Our family was encouraged by the university’s commitment to reinvention, in spite of keeping the name, and we are hopeful with time those fixes will bring about the positive changes intended (including reputational).
While the name of the university remains, the Lee name has been removed from most public areas of the school. Neither Washington nor Lee’s images are on the diplomas or on display in the chapel. The chapel is undergoing renovations to conceal the view into Lee’s tomb. Statues, plaques and other civil war memorabilia have been removed and will be recontextualized in a future museum to supplement the Delaney Center for Southern Race Relations.
It is a balancing act of keeping alums happy while also making the changes that will make the campus welcoming to a more diverse student body. While there may have been concerns a few years ago about alum giving (which influenced the decision to keep the name), those fears so far appear unfounded as contributions to the Parent Fund and gifts/commitments set new records in 2022. 2022 Year in Review A group of Black alums also formed The George Floyd Fund to support the Office of Inclusion and Engagement, which I see as an endorsement of the plans to evolve and overcome its past.
Only time will tell if those efforts are enough to get more students to look past the name. I appreciate the OP creating this thread and sharing their perspective. For families who find W&L a fit, it is a very special place.
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