January 10, 2012 — Coral Gables — The University of Miami will celebrate the 50th anniversary of its desegregation with a series of events this spring. The theme of the commemoration is “Celebrating Unity in Diversity: Marking the 50th Anniversary of Desegregation at UM.” It is a tribute to the pioneering individuals who broke the barrier and those who followed. The legacy continues to this day, as students, faculty, staff and alumni collaborate to continue to build a diverse university. The Princeton Review praises UM for being #3 in “Race/Class Interaction.” 

In January 1961, the UM Board of Trustees made national headlines by deciding to remove the color barrier and admit students “regardless of race, creed or color.” The decision was affected by the University’s acceptance of racially diverse students from throughout Latin America and the Caribbean from its early days. During the first year of official integration, 75 African-American students enrolled at UM.

The UM community will take this time to celebrate and reflect on its progress, but also to reinforce a commitment to a more diverse and united university. Plans for this spring will include honoring pioneering black alumni and faculty, exploring how to recruit and retain even more students and faculty of color, and exploring the academic importance of diversity in the 21st century.   

“Ground-breaking innovations and collaborations are the outcomes of diversity,” says UM President Donna E. Shalala. “The University embraces a student population from over 100 different countries, and in 2012 we mark the 50th anniversary of UM’s commitment to this purpose.”

The University of Miami comprises a plurality of races, ethnicities, languages, customs, and faiths. This multicultural environment reflects our location in one of the world’s most dynamic and multicultural cities. It reflects the increasingly diverse face of our nation and society. And it is an integral component of life at UM, creating a vibrant mosaic of perspectives that enriches our students’ educational experience in countless ways.

UM students come from varied socioeconomic backgrounds and all walks of life. Nearly half are Hispanic, Asian-American, or African-American, and about one in eight UM students are from outside the U.S. More than 20 percent of the undergraduate and graduate students at the School of Business Administration and the College of Arts and Sciences hail from other nations, as do more than 13 percent of students at the College of Engineering. In all, UM is the academic home of nearly 1,700 foreign students of all levels from more than 110 countries as diverse as Peru, Pakistan, and Poland.

This past fall, the UM Miller School of Medicine was ranked the No. 1 medical school in the country for Hispanic students, according to Hispanic Business Magazine in its 2011 report on the Top 10 Medical Schools for Hispanics. Since 2006, the Miller School has ranked in the top 5, and for the past two years has ranked No. 2. Two other UM schools were also in the top 10 schools for Hispanics – the School of Business ranked No. 5 and the School of Law ranked No. 6.

The University of Miami’s emerging diversity is also evident in our full-time faculty, which is nearly 36 percent minority—making UM one of the most diverse major private research universities. Another 1,000-plus lecturers, adjunct faculty, researchers, and observers arrive from all over the world each year. In addition to these efforts, the University is committed to increasing the number of students, faculty, and employees of color.

In today’s workplace, where change is the only constant and a growing number of cultures have become an ever-increasing influence, UM works to harness the wealth of such human diversity. Workers from different racial and ethnic backgrounds, along with the fierce competition that academic and medical institutions now face, make cultural diversity a critical issue and an undeniable resource.

For more information and events, visit www.miami.edu/desegregation.

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The University of Miami’s mission is to educate and nurture students, to create knowledge, and to provide service to our community and beyond. Committed to excellence and proud of our diversity of our University family, we strive to develop future leaders of our nation and the world. www.miami.edu.