 "Photo: Buddy Burkhalter")
A study based on random samples of brochures and advertisements from hundreds of colleges found that some had cut and pasted faces of minority students onto the bodies of white students to depict a higher level of diversity.
The study, conducted by Minnesota sociology professor Timothy Pippert, shows what he describes as a misrepresentation of campus diversity.
Pippert, an associate professor of sociology at Augsburg College, collaborated with sociology student Edward Matchett for the study and found that institutions often print photographs that suggest greater campus diversity than they really have.
"We do wonder if there are cases when students have found themselves on campuses that, in actuality, look nothing like how they were portrayed in the brochures," Pippert said.
Pippert's study, based on a random sampling of material from 371 U.S. colleges and universities, shows the accuracy of racial representation based on actual average percentage break-downs of the schools. The study found that black students were overrepresented in promotional ads, appearing in a higher percentage of ads than enrollment figures suggest there are on campus.
Pippert said this seems to show that many marketers define diversity solely by the appearance of black students in university advertisements.
The study also found a slight overrepresentation of Asian Americans in college catalogs. The results of Hispanic representation is not yet complete, Pippert said.
"We're not saying that the colleges are doing this with malicious intent. There is value in campuses saying that people with different backgrounds are welcome here," Pippert said.
At UT, racial diversity has been increasing statistically over the past decade thanks to numerous diversity initiatives and the 1998 top ten percent law, which guarantees the admittance of any high school senior who graduates in the top 10 percent of his or her class.
The University created a diversity office in 2005, now known as the Division of Diversity and Community Engagement, in order to promote campus diversity through hiring staff from underrepresented communities and recruiting minority students.
According to the UT Office of Admissions, in 1998 white students made up 65 percent of all freshmen enrolled. In 2007, white students made up 54.3 percent of all freshmen enrolled.
In 1998, African Americans constituted 3 percent of the freshmen enrolled compared to 5.2 percent in 2007. In that same time frame, Asian American representation rose from 13 percent to 18 percent, while that of Hispanics rose from 14 to 19 percent of UT's first-year students.
Greg Vincent, the vice president of the division, said it is important to accurately portray the racial breakdown of UT's student body while simultaneously advocating diversity.
"Diversity is a compelling interest because all students benefit when they're exposed to new backgrounds and viewpoints," Vincent said.
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