Interesting Observation in The Office of Enrollment Services

     Today I made an interesting observation in the department where I work at Owens Community College.  Of the over thirty academic advisors on staff, I noticed that only three are African American.  I found this interesting because I learned that the most recent student population figures indicate that Owens student enrollment is comprised of 13.8% black and Hispanic students (Ohio Board of Regents, 2011).  To me, it was surprising that we only have three African American advisors given this percentage of black and Hispanic students.  Another observation was that the three African American advisors' cubicles were located in a tucked away area in the back of the office, separated from most of the other advisors.  It made me wonder if this was something that was apparent to these three African American academic advisors, other staff members, and even students.  I also decided to investigate the percentage of full time African American faculty on campus at Owens.  I found out that of the 205 full-time faculty only 5% are from a minority group (Ohio Board of Regents, 2011).  I assume that this is something that African American students notice and that it has an effect on the degree to which they feel that they matter.  I look forward to talking with several African American students first-hand to gain their perspective on how this impacts them. 

Ohio Board of Regents (February, 2011). Owens community college portrait. Retrieved from https://www.owens.edu/portrait/index.html