USF welcomed its most diverse class to date this fall with a 3% increase in Hispanic students.
Courtesy of USF
By Molly Ryan
After USF faced a lack a diversity in its enrollment last fall, Vice President for Student Success Paul Dosal said he is “proud of what USF has accomplished” and he recognizes there is room for improvement.
On Oct. 14, USF announced that a new task force will be geared toward promoting success among Latino students.
Seeking to enhance campus diversity and create a more dynamic student body, the Advancing Latino Access and Success (ALAS) Task Force aims to increase enrollment and degree completion for students of Hispanic heritage.
Made up of 15 members from USF and the Tampa Bay area, the task force is co-run by Dosal and Elizabeth Hordge-Freeman, interim vice president of Institutional Equity, senior advisor to the president and provost for Diversity, Inclusion & Equal Opportunity.
“The members of the task force share USF’s commitment to Hispanic student access and success and its determination to climb to even higher levels of enrollment and completion,” Dosal said in a press release. “We are proud of what USF has accomplished but recognize that we can still improve our performance.”
At its core, ALAS plans to focus on the challenges and opportunities unique to Latino students.
“USF has experienced incredible momentum in terms of advancing equitable access,” Hordge-Freeman said in the press release. “By continuing to develop our existing initiatives that target underrepresented students and embracing new initiatives such as ALAS, we are investing in diversity and equity as key competitive advantages.”
As the most diverse incoming class to date, USF saw a 3% increase in Hispanic enrollment in 2021.
According to the press release, 22% of USF undergraduate students identify as Latino with that number estimated to rise – just shy of the 25% required to be designated as a Hispanic-Serving Institution (HSI) by the U.S. Department of Education.
The HSI designation also requires eligibility for a university to participate in three Department of Education grant programs.
Despite a controversy last spring that left Hispanic faculty feeling “invisible” and “neglected” by administration, the university strives to create a safer space for both Latino students and faculty through programs like ALAS and the Alianza Latina Faculty & Staff Association.
“We deeply value this opportunity to strengthen our relationships within the Hispanic community in the Tampa Bay region,” USF Interim President Rhea Law said in the press release. “The work of this broadly representative task force will support USF’s ability to attract and retain talented Latino students and enhance resources and support to all students.”
