Commentary: Diversity at Ramapo College or lack thereof

By LINDSEY WAGONER

Ramapo College is falling short when it comes to diversity among its faculty and the student body, according to a review of its demographics.

Collegefactual.com, who uses statistics from the Department of Education, ranks Ramapo at #1,053 in ethnic diversity countrywide. More than two-thirds of the student population and faculty are white, according to campus statistics. 

Ramapo College is located an hour from New York City in the New Jersey, states that are home to multicultural communities. But Ramapo has not reflected the diversity that surrounds it in the Northeast, observers say.

 

Compared to neighboring institutions like Bergen and Rockland Community Colleges, there is opportunity for Ramapo to expand its diversity. As outlined in the chart below. According to Ramapo’s institutional research from 2017, 67 percent of students were white. A more staggering statistic, is that 74 percent of Ramapo’s faculty is white. With only 8 percent of the staff identifying as African-American, 7 percent as Asian and 6 percent as Latino. The student body may be sluggishly diversifying, but Ramapo’s faculty still has some work to do.

Comparing Diversity      [Click for enlarged version]

Comparing Stats

 

A transfer student that comes from Rockland Community, can attest to that institution’s vast and diverse student body. At Rockland,  her  classes were filled with students from all different backgrounds, ethnicities and religions. Rockland far surpasses Ramapo when it comes to diversity.

At Rockland College, according to Institutional Research, 17.8 percent of students identify as African-American; compared to Ramapo College, with 5.1 percent. Rockland has 22.2 percent Hispanic student population whereas Ramapo is 15.9 percent. The two schools are only separated by 7 miles. 

Let’s take a look at Ramapo’s Board of Trustees, appointed positions.  

 

There is virtually no diversity among the people who oversee the policies and programs that are implemented at Ramapo college. They govern and create programs that contain very narrow perspectives. There are also few women on the board.  The only person of color is a student representative who is African American. She was elected by the student body.

There is less of a voice from a woman’s perspective and 55 percent of students at Ramapo are female. Women should be more widely represented since there are more women at the school than men.

 

In fairness, Ramapo is a four-year institution, and not a community college. There are more financial aid packages offered to community college students than to undergraduate students. For community colleges, the services and aid available to students might be more substantial and attract a higher volume and variety of different ethnicities.

The college has outlined a strategic plan that states, “Ramapo pledges to respect and value personal uniqueness and differences, to seek to attract diverse faculty, staff and students that reflect the changing demographics in the region and beyond, to seek and acknowledge common ground, to challenge stereotyping, and to promote sensitivity and inclusion.”

Though the aim is to create a diverse space, is the college utilizing all the resources at their disposal and are there hiring practices prejudiced? 

In order to incentivize people from more diverse backgrounds to participate at Ramapo, the college should consider expanding the diversity among its staff members. A more diverse staff may reach out to a wider audience and entice more students from unique backgrounds to come learn at Ramapo.  

Programs Available at Ramapo

Ramapo does offer clubs as a sanctuary for students to connect with others from similar backgrounds. Filipino, Spanish, Armenian, Italian, Muslim, Caribbean, Latino, Asian-American are just some of the many clubs available to students on campus. These clubs can help students network and find people with similar heritages and interests. 

A Ramapo student, said she felt Ramapo was “diverse and she felt safe.” about her experience.