Academy not satisfied with minority rates

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Academy not satisfied with minority rates
By Patrick Winn - Staff writer
Posted : Friday May 9, 2008 10:17:53 EDT

The Air Force Academy’s Board of Visitors, acknowledging the academy’s uphill battle to draw more minority students at a May 8 congressional meeting, reiterated its commitment to attract a diverse body of cadets.

The mostly white institution, a breeding ground for future Air Force leaders, is mindful that a dearth of minority cadets will likely mean few minority generals in decades to come. Still, the academy is finding it increasingly difficult to attract black and Hispanic cadets, especially as Fortune 500 firms are also courting the best and brightest young minorities, said Chuck Garcia, chairman of the Board of Visitors.

“They’re going to a lot of our competitors and not going to the academy,” Garcia said.

The academy’s youngest class, graduating in 2011, is roughly 77 percent white, 5.5 percent black, 7.5 percent Hispanic, 8 percent Asian and 1.5 percent Native American. This represents a slight minority increase over this year’s graduating class, which is 81 percent white, but the board wants larger gains.

“This is something we’ll never finish,” said Vice Chief of Staff Gen. Duncan McNabb. “We’ve got to constantly watch.”


Rest of article at: http://www.airforcetimes.com/news/2008/05/airforce_academy_minorities_050808/