Fontbonne University, a private Catholic university based in Clayton, has made dramatic efforts in recent years to increase the diversity of its student body. In particular, the percentage of African-American students in this year’s incoming class skyrocketed.
According to the university, the average percentage of African-American students in each class from 2010-2017 was roughly 8 percent. In this year’s freshman class, however, 31 percent of students identify as African-American.
In addition, Fontbonne has been working to recruit other minority students, leading to a total of 43.7 percent students of color in this year’s incoming class (as compared to 23 percent in the class of 2015). The university also has had success targeting more low-income and first-generation students.
“Each year the amount of non-white, first-generation and students with economic needs increases, and it’s honestly great,” said Octavia Collins, a junior.
A few major policy changes drove this shift. Over the past few years, Fontbonne has committed to more need-based financial aid and has focused on enrolling more students from the St. Louis metropolitan area.
“We want to change the paradigm,” said Fontbonne President J. Michael Pressimone, who published a memorable essay in The American about placing a Black Lives Matter sign in the yard of the university president’s home in Clayton. “The neediest students who demonstrate academic ability deserve an opportunity to earn a college degree.”
For the freshman class that began this fall, students of color were awarded an average of $20,945 in institutional funds, totaling more than $1.4 million, according to the university.
Collins said the university is improving “at advertising the many different routes you can take in order to get the most or more funding for your education.”
In addition, some specific scholarships are now being offered. As of 2017, the Fontbonne Promise scholarship program started offering full-tuition scholarships to low-income, first-generation college students from Missouri. There are 33 students currently enrolled in the program.
“Research has shown that a bachelor’s degree changes not just an individual’s life, but also the lives of their children and families,” said Joseph Havis, Fontbonne’s vice president of enrollment.
“The first generation is especially critical. We know for a fact that once someone in a family has a college degree, the expectation is set for other family members to attend college, which leads to sustainable wealth, in turn helping lift up the entire community.”
Richard J. Mark, president of Ameren Illinois president and a member of Fontbonne’s Board of Trustees, said the university’s increasing diversity benefits more than the students and university itself. “When our universities look like our society,” Mark said, “it creates a powerful experience for every student, faculty member, and the entire community.”
When welcoming a more diverse class into what had previously been an almost entirely white school, Fontbonne was compelled to support the different needs of its new students. University leaders are working two different avenues to do so: through academic support and tutoring programs and through the social support of organizations like the Black Student Union (BSU).
Collins is involved in both. She is vice president of the BSU and a tutor in the Griffins Achieving Progress program, where she mentors fellow students.
“I like to look at it as you get to have someone, a friend, to help you, give advice and guide you through your college career,” she said of the tutoring program.
“If a student is struggling with an assignment, open office hours are available for students that need to speak to a teacher or get help.”
In addition, according to BSU President Leslie Doyle, free tutoring is accessible to all students, and the school is “exploring starting a summer bridge program” for underrepresented students.
Academic help isn’t the only thing needed to make this school feel like a home for underrepresented students, though. According to Collins, attending a primarily white institution like Fontbonne can be isolating – and that’s where organizations like the BSU come in.
“Black Student Union wants to make students feel more comfortable with their experience and connect with more people who you can relate to what they are going through,” Collins said. Older BSU members can also help younger ones get adjusted to college life. “BSU members can share their experiences and help newcomers through the transition,” Collins said.
Even more so than having scholarships available, Collins said, having the BSU is a vital support system for black students at Fontbonne.
“It’s full of people who can give advice and just look out for you,” Collins said. “We support each other in sports events and school activities like choir. We uplift one another by posting each other’s accomplishments on social media. We volunteer at places in our own neighborhoods for community service. I can honestly say that we are one big family.”
