ACCESS IS NOT ENOUGH Introduction A mere thirty-five years ago, the University of Maryland at College Park, was a segregated institution. In 1954, the university was officially integrated, but it was not until the early 1970s that Blacks were employed or enrolled as students in any appreciable numbers. The trilogy of the State's mandated desegregation goals, the commitment of top campus leadership to diversity, and the aggressive recruitment efforts of some campus officials (black and white faculty, administrators and staff) have allowed the campus to increase substantially the number of black employees and students at the university. As evidence of this success, according to the 1988 data compiled through the Association of American Universities Data Exchange (AAUDE), the College Park campus is currently ranked among the top three public members of the association with regard to black undergraduate and graduate student enrollments as well as the percentage of black faculty employed. These accomplishments are significant but candor requires us to admit that this ranking means a very low level of achievement on the part of most of these large research universities. Thus, as we prepare for the twenty-first century, it is important to assess our status in order to identify areas of success as well as problems that are hindering our pursuit of excellence. Since the integration of the university, many studies and reports have been completed to address the concerns of Desegregation/Affirmative Action. These reports have led to substantial changes in how our campus is organized administratively to respond to these issues. The reports have also influenced our progress in recruiting black students and employees. A continuing concern, however, is our lack of success in retaining these individuals, particularly our undergraduate students. Almost ten years ago, I presented a report, Access is Not Enough, at a campus retreat to address the issues of Affirmative Action/Desegregation at UMCP. This presentation was concerned primarily with the retention of black undergraduates because it appeared that we had a revolving door for these students. Since 1978, we have increased our black undergraduate enrollment, maintained our black graduate student enrollment, and experienced marginal success in the recruitment of faculty and staff. These trends suggest that while our accessibility has improved, some chronic problems still remain. Thus, the statement "Access Is Not Enough" appears to be appropriate still for Blacks at UMCP in 1989. The data concerning our past and current status are outlined below. The first-time full-time black undergraduate student enrollment in 1978 was 381 or 7.9 percent of our freshman class and our Fall 1988 enrollment for this group is 497 or 13.6 percent. The total number of black undergraduates has increased from 2,168 (7.4 percent) in Fall 1978 to 2,700 (9.7 percent) in Fall 1988. Although the number of black students enrolling at UMCP has increased, the retention rates and graduation patterns for black students continue to be problem areas. In recent years, the retention rates for black undergraduates have improved; however, the retention rates for Blacks are not equal to those of white undergraduates. For example, for the 1983 freshman class, the second-year retention rate for whites is 83 percent and 73 percent for Blacks; the third-year rates are 71 percent for whites and 62 percent for Blacks. Appendix B (see file bappendix.txt) provides retention data for the past several years. Black graduate student enrollment increased in numbers from 409 (5.5 percent) in Fall 1978 to 456 (5.2 percent) in Fall 1988. During those ten years the percentage of black graduate students has risen as high as 7.0 percent (1980) but has gradually declined to its current point. The total number of black faculty at UMCP increased from 83 in 1980 to 91 in 1988. Although the total number increased slightly, black faculty in the tenure/tenure-track category increased from 31 (2.2 percent) in 1980 to 51 (3.4 percent) in 1988. Also, during this period, many outstanding black tenured and untenured faculty were recruited to UMCP but have since left the university. While the number of black staff at UMCP increased their percentage of the total workforce decreased. In 1980, 831 Blacks represented 14 percent of our workforce and in 1988 we had 862 black employees making up 13.1 percent of our workforce. An analysis of the workforce reveals that 74 percent (636) of these employees were classified staff and this percentage has remained relatively consistent over the ten year period. Further, the number of Blacks employed in the category of Professional increased from 63 (10.1 percent) in 1980 to 110 (10.9 percent) in 1988 and the number of Blacks employed in the Executive category increased from 9 (11.4 percent) in 1980 to 19 (12.8 percent) in 1988. However, the number of Blacks in the Academic Administrator category decreased from 8 (13.6 percent) in 1980 to 6 (9.8 percent) in 1988. These data suggest only marginal progress in the recruitment and retention of Blacks at UMCP during the tenİyear period from 1978 to 1988. To put this progress into perspective, a comparison of UMCP with other higher education institutions is appropriate. While UMCP has experienced minimal increases, nationally, the presence of Blacks in higher education is declining. The total enrollment of black undergraduates declined from a peak enrollment of 1.1 million in 1980 to 1,081,000 in Fall 1986. The total number of Blacks enrolling in graduate schools nationally fluctuated during the ten year period of 1976 to 1986. In 1976, the number of Blacks in graduate school was 72,000, their enrollment decreased to 61,000 in 1982, and it had risen to 72,000 again by 1986. The number of Blacks completing a PhD declined from 1116 in 1977 to 820 in 1986. As noted earlier, UMCP is a leader in providing access, however, much more is needed if we are going to go beyond providing access to providing an environment for Blacks that is supportive of their individual pursuits of excellence as well as our institutional goal of excellence. There are strong indications that the campus leadership is committed to substantial improvement in all the above dismal statistics. The recently developed Enhancement Plan for College Park includes a number of significant accountability measures to evaluate our progress in increasing the presence of Blacks on campus. The five-year goals include: (1) increasing the percentage of black students in the entire undergraduate body from 9.7 percent to 12 percent; (2) increasing the fiveİyear graduation rates for black students by 15 percentage points; (3) increasing the proportion of black graduate students from 5 percent to 12 percent; (4) increasing the number of doctorates awarded annually to Blacks by 25 percent over the 1988 level of 24; (5) doubling the number of black tenure/tenure-track faculty; (6) increasing the percentage of black and other minority administrative staff from 12 percent to 18 percent. These goals will require the institution to be more aggressive toward ensuring that black students, faculty and staff are having a productive and successful experience at UMCP. The method for collecting the data and the other information in the report included a review of the topical literature (a listing of documents referenced in the report is attached) and numerous conversations and discussions with black students, staff and faculty. To encourage participation from Blacks on campus, a letter (Appendix C) (see file cappendix.txt) explaining the purpose of the report was forwarded to all black employees. Over 250 of these employees were sent a copy of the draft introduction, including the questions to be addressed in the report. All black employees were encouraged to attend the open forums held on July 18, 1989 and July 27, 1989. Others unable to attend the forums were requested to share their comments by visiting, telephone or personal interview. Thirty individuals attended at least one of the forums for employees, and many others provided written or verbal comments. In addition, key black officials and directors of units serving large minority populations were interviewed, and a luncheon was held with a group of black faculty members. Two forums for students were held in Spring 1989, and a third session was held with students during the summer. Approximately fifty students participated in at least one of these sessions. The comments and statements from these interactions with staff, faculty and students are included in the findings for each chapter. The following chapters on campus climate, pre-college outreach programs, undergraduate students, graduate students, faculty, staff and the conclusion are provided to inform, challenge and assist the campus in moving beyond providing access to assuring Blacks a productive and successful experience at UMCP.