Based on the current student records as of Sep. 4, 2015, the diversity of the class of 2019 increased by 42 percent over the class of 2018. “I think the campus diversity is evident. Everyone’s talking about it,” said Dr. Donald Taylor, president of Cabrini College. This year’s incoming class at Cabrini is more diverse than those of the past, in accordance with Taylor’s plan for the future.
“The diversity is important because we are an inclusive community,” Taylor said. “It is part of our mission as a Cabrini institution, be- cause the college was founded to serve immigrants and first-generation students. It’s like Mother Cabrini’s message living out.” Cabrini College’s mission statement reads, “The College welcomes learners of all faiths, cultures, and backgrounds and prepares them to become en- gaged citizens of the world.”
Taylor strives not only to welcome a diverse group of students, but to celebrate them through inclusiveness. His Cabrini 2020 Roadmap to Growth explains that his goal is to eventually become a Hispanic-serving institution.
Being recognized as a Hispanic-serving institution involves reach- ing 25 percent Hispanic enrollment. Cabrini’s admissions office was tasked with this mission to increase the diversity of the student body over the past year.
Shannon Zottola, Executive Director of admissions, said, “We did have a plan in place. We hired two new multicultural recruiters in the start of the recruitment cycle for 2015.”
Angie Martinez and Sandra Vasquez, Cabrini’s multicultural recruiters, were hired in September of 2014. “They were both charged with increasing our numbers within diversity, particularly with His- panic recruitment,” Zottola said.
Along with the multicultural recruiter positions, a new position was created in the Office of Student Diversity Initiatives in order to stress the importance of diversity and promote acceptance throughout cam- pus.
“Everybody has a stake in developing community and respect, and so we all need to be talking and thinking about diversity,” Sarah Carter, assistant director of programming for the student diversity initiatives office, said.
Carter’s job in the office involves working with students and coming up with programming that addresses diversity and acceptance throughout campus. The Office of Student Diversity Initiatives works with students from all backgrounds and strives for inclusion of all students.
A junior psychology major, Cheyenne Irizarry, is one of the many students who works with the Student Diversity Office. This year, she is an Advisory Council for Inclusivity and Diversity, or ACID, leader on campus and represents the office through this position.
On the increased diversity that took place this year, Carter said, “I think it’s a wonderful thing. I feel like with all the diversity everyone can come together as one and start to understand each other better.”
Though the diversity of the student population throughout Cabrini has almost doubled since 2008, the college does not want to stop their efforts to increase diversity in enrollment. They hope to continue to grow in diversity each year moving forward.
With such success in diversifying the student body, a movement will soon begin to diversify the rest of the campus, as well.
“We have to continue to diversify our trustees, administration, faculty and staff, along with the students,” Taylor said. “Then, the students see role models for themselves in the classroom, in the offices, et cetera.”
