Diversity Network Launches: Initiative Aims to Bring Study Abroad to 'Diverse and Underserved' Students

BERKELEY, Calif., May 5 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- National leaders, including President Obama, encourage study abroad as an advantage that helps American students compete in the global workforce. But certain students do not reap the benefits of study abroad as much as their peers. Research shows that underrepresented students — including ethnic minorities, community-college, low-income and those with disabilities — have not had equal access to study-abroad programs.

Andrew Gordon and his colleagues want to level the playing field. This month the University of San Francisco graduate, 29, launched the Diversity in Global Education Network (www.DiversityNetwork.org), a global peer-sharing network of academic and business professionals, dedicated to expanding international opportunities for underrepresented students.

"There wasn't a central resource for higher-education professionals working to recruit, advise and retain underrepresented students for international programs," Gordon says. "The Diversity Network fills that void.

"Underrepresented students face many barriers to education abroad. We academic professionals need to ask ourselves what we are doing, and not doing, that may contribute to those barriers. We must do more to meet their needs," Gordon says. "Now we have a resource that lets higher-education professionals connect and collaborate on this important issue."

Colleges have improved in diversity recruitment and retention. But, according to the U.S. Department of Education, Caucasians represent 64.4 percent of a typical university student body, yet make up a staggering 81.9 percent of those who study abroad. African-American and Latinos comprise 13.1 and 11.4 percent of a total student body, respectively, yet less than 4 and 6 percent of the "study-abroad" population. Community college students represent 46 percent of the undergraduate population, yet only 2.2 percent of those who study abroad.

Gordon began his mission to achieve this equity in 2006, when he created Diversity Abroad, an international organization with a mission to ensure that students from diverse backgrounds take advantage of study abroad. He formed the student-focused website www.DiversityAbroad.com, an information portal for underrepresented students looking for international opportunities. With the Diversity Network, Gordon expands that resource by engaging academic professionals in the goal.

The Diversity Network provides trainings and assessment, while engaging academic professionals on all levels — letting them share questions, ideas and strategies with colleagues worldwide.

Diversity Abroad is the leading global education organization working to diversify international student mobility through outreach and professional development. Visit www.DiversityNetwork.org.

SOURCE Diversity Abroad