Dr. Sam Minner
September 9, 2019
Las Vegas, N.M. “U.S. News & World Report” included New Mexico Highlands on its list of most diverse regional universities in the Western United States.
The magazine released the Highlands and other rankings Sept. 9.
“The demography of the nation is rapidly changing, and New Mexico Highlands is pleased to be at the center of the changes,” said Highlands University President Sam Minner. “We welcome all students to our campus and think about human diversity not as something to merely accept or tolerate, but something that adds to the richness and quality of our work. I am so proud that Highlands was named among the most diverse universities in the West.”
Minner said the United States has always done and continues to do a good job with some segments of the population in regard to higher education.
“In the early days of our nation, that meant males. More recently, it has meant middle class students who were predominantly white. When it came to other students, we’ve not done so well. Today, the situation is very different. Many students who were not welcome in American higher education are now enrolled and in significant numbers. These diverse students are the future of American higher education and indeed, the future of our nation. We welcome them,” Minner said.
According to “U.S. News & World Report,” the ethnic diversity index measures the probability that any two people chosen at random from a given school are of different races or ethnic groups. International students were not included in the index.
The data was drawn from each institution’s fall 2018 total undergraduate degree-seeking student body, full and part time, as reported to “U.S. News & World Report.”
The ethnic categories used in the calculations are non-Hispanic African-American, Hispanic, American Indian, Pacific Islander/Native Hawaiian, Asian, non-Hispanic white and multiracial (two or more races.)