The Lyons Academic Center at New England College, in Henniker, N.H.
Via The New England Council (newenglandcouncil.com)
BOSTON
“In a state where colleges and universities struggle to recruit racially diverse student bodies, New England College, whose main campus is in Henniker, N.H., has gained recognition for its commitment to recruiting diverse students. To date, 36.2 percent of the college’s 1,135 resident students identify as African-American, Hispanic, Asian, or more than one race.
“New England College’s success comes as a result of a recruitment strategy overseen by the college’s president, Michelle Perkins. Through this strategy, demographic data provided through standardized testing is purchased and then used to identify and target racially diverse students for recruitment. Moreover, New England College focuses this recruitment tactic on students from working-class communities in locations in and outside of New England, such as Philadelphia, New York and parts of Florida.
“When others doubted President Perkins’s goal of achieving campus diversity in a rural area of predominantly white New Hampshire, her response was simple: ‘I didn’t believe it.’
“‘We’ve invested a lot in identifying students from all over the country. A lot of them are first-generation college students. Usually, when you are a first-generation student, you have financial needs. We are very generous in our scholarship and grant programs,’ she explained.’’
Henniker Bridge, over the Contoocook River, connects the college’s main campus with its athletic fields and the town center and is listed on the New Hampshire State Register of Historic Places.
— Photo by ctchmeifucan
New England College’s Institute of Art & Design in Manchester, N.H.
