The Brown & White

The admissions office hopes to bring more diversity to the class of 2013 by increasing recruitment in the South and Southwestern U.S.

The changes will be implemented through the hiring of two new assistant directors of admissions by early summer, as well as altering and expanding existing recruitment practices, J.Leon Washington, dean of admissions and financial aid, said.

The directors will each receive their own territory to recruit, allowing admissions directors to reach more students across the country and around the world, Washington said.

In the next few years, officials expect a drop in the number of students applying to college because there are less people in that age bracket in the U.S.

Washington said this population shift will lead to more competition between selective schools and is one of the reasons Lehigh decided to increase recruitment in other areas of the country.

"We are not only going to continue to do well in our traditional territories but we are also going to make an investment into new territories to attract more students," he said. "This is also in keeping with the university's desire to become more diverse in a broad sense."

Admissions was drawn to the South and southwest because data shows the population trend expected to decrease college applicants around the world might not be as drastic in these regions, Washington said.

Washington also said it is important to recruit from the South because students from these states traditionally stay in state for college, but now this is no longer the case, as more students take their college experience as a chance to get away.

"A lot of my friends from home went to state schools, but I chose a university on the East Coast because I wanted to go to a new place with new people because that is what college is all about," said Kathryne Walker, '11, from Louisville, Kentucky.

In order to attract students, such as Walker, an increased effort needs to be put into establishing a Lehigh presence in the pockets of diversity, Washington said.

The 2008 census of Lehigh students shows more than 75 percent of undergraduate students come from Pennsylvania, New Jersey, New York, Connecticut and Massachusetts.

Barrett Frankel, assistant director of admissions, said the most important step when trying to increase diversity is to educate people about Lehigh.

"There are plenty of qualified students all over the world that just don't know about Lehigh," Frankel said. "It's sort of a diamond in the rough."

In order to attract attention student's must be aware of Lehigh's attributes, but it was only recently Lehigh started recruiting in all 50 states, Washington said.

In addition to balancing geographic diversity, Lehigh is also looking to recruit more women, especially those in the math, science and engineering departments.

The major problem admissions faces when recruiting is breaking trends historically set by Lehigh, such as a higher male ratio, a predominately Caucasian population and attracting students mainly from the East Coast, Frankel said.

Admissions plans to increase information sessions, improve relations with high school counselors and parents to guide students toward Lehigh, and inform students about all of the assets Lehigh has to offer, Frankel said.

"You walk on this campus and right away the word is 'wow,'" Washington said, "We get so many people that come through and say 'I did not know you are such a fine institution that offers all that you offer.'"

Admissions also plans to increase diversity by hiring a permanent director and assistant director of diversity recruitment.

The goal of diversity recruitment is not only to reach out to minorities not well represented in the Lehigh community, but also to first-generation college students, and expand Lehigh's socio-economic, political and ethnic diversity, Washington said.

When looking for new first-year or transfer students, admissions directors seek highly qualified, energetic students who are focused on academics and eager to become part of the Lehigh community, Washington said.

Washington said he tries to recruit a class that mirrors the world that students will be living and working in once they leave Lehigh.

Deborah Binko, '11, said she doesn't think the attempt to diversify Lehigh will work.

"I appreciate admissions efforts to increase diversity, because the lack of it takes away from Lehigh's reputation as a fine institution," Binko said. "But because of that reputation of being a very homogenous school, I think that the office of admissions has their work cut out for themselves when trying to find different types of students. It is a vicious circle of not having diversity and therefore not being able to increase it."