by Caleb Fort
Daily Lobo
UNM ranked in the top 25 graduate schools for Hispanics in the April 9 issue of the magazine Hispanic Outlook in Higher Education.
But some Hispanic graduate students said they are worried the ranking will make the University complacent about improving its services for
minorities.
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"When I get a B or a C in my class, that doesn't make me happy," said Yvette Morales, a member of the Raza Graduate
Student Association. "That's what's happening here. We don't want to celebrate mediocrity."
The report ranked UNM 16th for master's degrees given to Hispanic students, 22nd for Hispanic doctoral degrees and 10th for Hispanic enrollment.
Florida International University was first for master's degrees, University of Texas-Austin was first for doctoral degrees and National University in California was first for enrollment.
The data for the rankings was from 2005 and 2006.
"This recognition confirms our sense that UNM is in a position to be - and is recognized as - a leading institution in the country for Hispanic students. UNM is uniquely positioned to meet the needs of Hispanic students and the nation's need for increasing the numbers of Hispanic doctors, lawyers, MBAs and PhDs," Provost Reed Dasenbrock said in an April 9 news release.
Dasenbrock could not be reached for comment Tuesday.
Christopher Ram°rez, a
member of the association, said he wants the University to prepare more Hispanic students for graduate school.
"When you look at the University population - students, graduate students and faculty - and compare it to the state, we're not really achieving parity," he said. "The University needs to have a pipeline for getting graduate students and faculty."
According to the 2000 census, 42.1 percent of New Mexicans were Hispanic.
At UNM, 28 percent of graduate students are Hispanic, according to the magazine.
Twenty-two percent of
master's degrees and 9 percent of doctoral degrees were given to Hispanics.
"We wouldn't even have to have this list of the top 25 if everyone was doing what they're supposed to be doing," said Madalena Salazar, a member of the association.
Salazar said the small number of Hispanic graduate students and faculty members makes it difficult for Hispanic graduate students to succeed.
Because UNM doesn't do a good enough job recruiting minority graduate students, some students take the responsibility, she said.
"We'll meet with Latino
undergraduates and talk to them and encourage them to think about graduate school," she said. "I feel like I have to. If we don't do it, who will? I end up getting so involved that I spread myself kind of thin."
Morales said the magazine's report will make it difficult to improve the University.
"How are we supposed to go to the provost or the president and say, 'We need to make things better?'" she said. "They can just wave this at us and say, 'We're doing fine.' With this kind of encouragement, things will just continue on the same trajectory."
Salazar said the association will voice its concerns to the administration by the end of the semester, but she declined further comment on the response.
"We have a plan in the works," she said.
