AMHERST — A record-setting enrollment of Black students in Amherst College’s first-year class is garnering attention from a publication that focuses on the status of African-Americans in higher education.

For college officials, topping The Journal of Blacks in Higher Education’s annual survey of the nation’s leading liberal arts colleges, for the 13th time in 28 years, illustrates the ongoing work done to make Amherst College welcoming for students of all backgrounds.

“Our commitment to a mission of serving a broadly diverse body is a bedrock principle,” said Matt McGann, the college’s dean of admission and financial aid.

The survey was published Thursday and is based on self-reported statistics.

With 100 Black students in the 514-student freshman class, the 19.5% mark also set a new standard among these colleges, exceeding the percentage in the Amherst class that entered in fall 2016, when 87 Black students made up 18.2% of its 478 students.

At Amherst College, 49% of domestic students, of the 1,970 student body currently enrolled, identify as people of color.

McGann said that the college’s diversity success starts from the top, with institutional priorities bringing a range of students to campus and making an investment in a fully diverse community. Half of faculty who have been hired in recent years are professors of color, he said, and many can become mentors to undergraduates.

“We’re very proud of this year’s first-year class in all ways,” McGann said. “It aligns with the mission of the college of having a diverse student body from all walks of life.”

In addition, the students come from all regions of the country and the world, with varying socioeconomic backgrounds, and bring a range of thoughts and perspectives. “Faculty have really enjoyed teaching this group,” McGann said.

The survey shows that second on the list is Harvey Mudd College in Claremont, California, where 41 Black students are in the class of 231, representing 17.7% at the schoool where engineering, science and mathematics are focuses. As for closer peer institutions, Wesleyan College in Middletown, Connecticut, which has been at the top of the survey six times, has 95 Black students of its 919-member freshmen class, for 10.3%

Smith and Mount Holyoke colleges are also on the survey. At Smith, 34 of 676 first-year students, or 5.1%, are Black, and at Mount Holyoke, 18 of 608 of first-year students, or 3%, are Black. The survey doesn’t count those who identify as biracial and multiracial.

McGann said President Biddy Martin, who is in her final year leading the institution, has made racial, ethnic and social diversity a priority, continuing an emphasis from her predecessor, Anthony Marx.

Success in attracting diverse students while trying to get 473 students, matching the number of beds available in the freshman dormitories, is also about having a community where everyone feels welcome.

“We’re really happy with who we are as a campus and glad prospective students are seeing the hard work we’ve done,” McGann said.

Families in the bottom 80% of income can have their children come to Amherst and have tuition covered by grants. Half of all students can also have their room and board covered.

The admissions office has to work at it to make sure applicants will think about Amherst, McGann said, and he praised the efforts of Mandy Hart, the associate dean of admission and coordinator of diversity outreach, and Cate Granger Zolkos, dean of admission. “It remains work that has to be done each year,” McGann said.

The foundation of the college helps, too, including a tradition that includes Edward Jones, who graduated with the class of 1826 and became the second Black student in the country to earn a bachelor’s degree, and Charles Drew, who graduated a century later and became a famed surgeon and medical researcher.

“We’re educating a student population that looks like a lot of the country in where they’re coming from, and their socioeconomic status and all of the different things,” McGann said. “I’m really proud of Amherst.”

Scott Merzbach can be reached at smerzbach@gazettenet.com.]]>