BOV Adopts Dalton Plan
Dublin Core
Title
BOV Adopts Dalton Plan
Subject
Dalton Plan
African American students
Description
An account of Mary Washington's racial integration policies, issues with integration, and also Governor Dalton's plans for desegregation of Virginia Colleges
Creator
Mello, Michael A.
Source
Mello, Michael A. "BOV Adopts Dalton Plan." ), April 25 , 1978.
Publisher
HIST 298, University of Mary Washington
Date
1978-04-25
Rights
The materials in this online collection are held by Special Collections, Simpson Library, University of Mary Washington and are available for educational use. For this purpose only, you may reproduce materials without prior permission on the condition that you provide attribution of the source.
Format
2 JPG
Language
English
Identifier
Michael Mello: 78
Coverage
Fredericksburg, VA
Text Item Type Metadata
Text
BOV Adopts Dalton Plan
TUESDAY, APRIL 25, 1978
By MICHAEL MELLO
In a recent resolution, the Board of Visitors of Mary Washington College reaffirmed the College's "commitment to the principle of affirmative action and equal educational and employment opportunity banning discrimination against individuals on the basis of race, color, religion, physical disability, national origin, political of filiation, marital status, sex age"
The resolution, passed by the Board in closed session on Saturday, April 15, also stated that Mary Washington would make "every good faith and reasonable effort to achieve the objectives," outlined in Virginia Governor John Dalton's desegregation plan. MWC is the third school in Virginia to ratify the plan.
There are presently 41 Black students enrolled at Mary Washington College, an institution with a total student body of 2,369. The College has no fulltime Black faculty members, though one part-time instructor and one visiting lecturer are Black. The new desegregation plan calculates that MWC should enroll 19 incoming Black freshmen in the fall of 1979 (compared to the eight enrolled last fall; ) this figure would be increased to 39 new Black admissions in the Fall of 1982.
College officials cite several possible reasons for these low figures in spite of MWC's long-standing policy of non-discriminatory admissions and hiring. A. Ray Merchent, College Vice President and Affirmative Action Officer, suggests two factors that might mitigate against Blacks choosing to matriculate at MWC. First Mary Washington is a single purpose institution, a liberal arts college. Merchent notes that "realistically, I don't think liberal arts colleges today are as popular as they once were… some of the institutions with multi-purposes and multi-programs with a wider range of offerings may tend to be more appealing to a higher number of students." Secondly, Merchent feels that MWC's extremely high percentage of female students is a factor. He suggests that we "look at it from the point of view of a Black student. A Black female student here has very few social opportunities with members of the opposite sex of her own race… Imagine yourself going to an institution that is 98.3 percent Black." Mary Washington is presently 98.3 percent White.
H. Conrad Warlick, Dean of Admissions and Financial Aid, also felt that Mary Washington's institutional arrangement might mitigate against Blacks applying for admission: "We are not a technical school. We do not offer programs that are of short duration that lead to immediate jobs that therefore lead to immediate income. We are not a professional school… Black students as a group have been more interested in professional and technically-oriented programs than they have been in the 'classic' liberal arts approach that we have here." Warlick cited the lack of a "thriving Black community" in Fredericksburg as a second possible factor.
He also suggested that Blacks may choose not to attend MWC because the college is situated in a rural setting, noting that the colleges and universities in Virginia with significant Black populations "are apt to be in major metropolitan areas." Warlick suggested that a fourth factor might be the lack of Black faculty members. A fifth, and paradoxial factor, has to do with the aggressiveness of MWC's minority recruitment policies. Warlick noted that Mary Washington has long been at the forefront of affirmative action, leading other Virginia schools. When "we were actively recruiting Blacks and they (other schools) weren't, our job was easier. When they became more aggressive and initiated well financed recruiting efforts that complicated our lives. It has simply become more competitive."
There are no simple answers to the problem of the low Black enrollment at MWC, says Warlick. He emphasizes the complexity of the entire process, comparing it to the intricate patterns of a Persian rug.
The matter of recruiting Black faculty members is equally complex. Vice President Merchent sees the problem as being basically economic: "we have had many very qualified Black applicants. We have offered positions to them, but we are not competitive enough salary wise. Several of them really want to come, but if you can get $3,000 or $4,000 somewhere else, you'll go there." James H. Croushore, Dean of the College and a key man in the selection of faculty, agrees that salaries are a "major factor," but he suggests a possible second reason as well: "the kind of institution. Certain candidates might not be interested in a small liberal arts environment."
These are the problems, the impediments to increasing the number of Black students and faculty members at Mary Washington College. The Dalton desegregation plan is hoped to be a solution.
The new Virginia desegregation plan, officially known as "The Virginia Plan for Equal Opportunity in State-Supported Institutions of Higher Education," has to date been approved by three schools: George Mason University, the University of Virginia and Mary Washington. In a statement last month Governor John Dalton said, "the plan is simply an ex-tension for the next five years of what we have been doing for the past four years to make equal opportunity in higher education a practical reality." The plan itself has basically seven parts.
First Virginia's two predominantly Black Colleges—Norfolk State and Virginia State—will be given priority in the creation of new programs. Dalton also agreed to ask the 1979 General Assembly for financing to make the Eminent Scholars program available to these schools; the Governor hopes that this will "attract more white faculty members" to these institutions. Second, in order to increase the number of Blacks in presently predominantly White colleges and universities and the number of Whites in predominantly Black institutions, Dalton agreed to ask the General Assembly for "aid grants of $1,000 each for gifted Black and White high school students who attend institutions which have heretofore been attended predominantly by the other race." These funds are non-need based. They are essentially incentive grants.
Third, the State Council of Higher Education has increased by 33 percent the funding of summer programs for deserving Black students. Fourth, a study will be made of why minority students at community colleges do not choose to study at four year institutions. Fifth, Virginia's Equal Employment Office Coordinator will conduct on-site reviews of the present hiring practices of state-supported institutions of higher learning. The governor has said that "the state will work to-ward the objective that the proportions of people hired to fill faculty and administrative vacancies will not be less than the proportion of minority members with proper credentials in
TUESDAY, APRIL 25, 1978
By MICHAEL MELLO
In a recent resolution, the Board of Visitors of Mary Washington College reaffirmed the College's "commitment to the principle of affirmative action and equal educational and employment opportunity banning discrimination against individuals on the basis of race, color, religion, physical disability, national origin, political of filiation, marital status, sex age"
The resolution, passed by the Board in closed session on Saturday, April 15, also stated that Mary Washington would make "every good faith and reasonable effort to achieve the objectives," outlined in Virginia Governor John Dalton's desegregation plan. MWC is the third school in Virginia to ratify the plan.
There are presently 41 Black students enrolled at Mary Washington College, an institution with a total student body of 2,369. The College has no fulltime Black faculty members, though one part-time instructor and one visiting lecturer are Black. The new desegregation plan calculates that MWC should enroll 19 incoming Black freshmen in the fall of 1979 (compared to the eight enrolled last fall; ) this figure would be increased to 39 new Black admissions in the Fall of 1982.
College officials cite several possible reasons for these low figures in spite of MWC's long-standing policy of non-discriminatory admissions and hiring. A. Ray Merchent, College Vice President and Affirmative Action Officer, suggests two factors that might mitigate against Blacks choosing to matriculate at MWC. First Mary Washington is a single purpose institution, a liberal arts college. Merchent notes that "realistically, I don't think liberal arts colleges today are as popular as they once were… some of the institutions with multi-purposes and multi-programs with a wider range of offerings may tend to be more appealing to a higher number of students." Secondly, Merchent feels that MWC's extremely high percentage of female students is a factor. He suggests that we "look at it from the point of view of a Black student. A Black female student here has very few social opportunities with members of the opposite sex of her own race… Imagine yourself going to an institution that is 98.3 percent Black." Mary Washington is presently 98.3 percent White.
H. Conrad Warlick, Dean of Admissions and Financial Aid, also felt that Mary Washington's institutional arrangement might mitigate against Blacks applying for admission: "We are not a technical school. We do not offer programs that are of short duration that lead to immediate jobs that therefore lead to immediate income. We are not a professional school… Black students as a group have been more interested in professional and technically-oriented programs than they have been in the 'classic' liberal arts approach that we have here." Warlick cited the lack of a "thriving Black community" in Fredericksburg as a second possible factor.
He also suggested that Blacks may choose not to attend MWC because the college is situated in a rural setting, noting that the colleges and universities in Virginia with significant Black populations "are apt to be in major metropolitan areas." Warlick suggested that a fourth factor might be the lack of Black faculty members. A fifth, and paradoxial factor, has to do with the aggressiveness of MWC's minority recruitment policies. Warlick noted that Mary Washington has long been at the forefront of affirmative action, leading other Virginia schools. When "we were actively recruiting Blacks and they (other schools) weren't, our job was easier. When they became more aggressive and initiated well financed recruiting efforts that complicated our lives. It has simply become more competitive."
There are no simple answers to the problem of the low Black enrollment at MWC, says Warlick. He emphasizes the complexity of the entire process, comparing it to the intricate patterns of a Persian rug.
The matter of recruiting Black faculty members is equally complex. Vice President Merchent sees the problem as being basically economic: "we have had many very qualified Black applicants. We have offered positions to them, but we are not competitive enough salary wise. Several of them really want to come, but if you can get $3,000 or $4,000 somewhere else, you'll go there." James H. Croushore, Dean of the College and a key man in the selection of faculty, agrees that salaries are a "major factor," but he suggests a possible second reason as well: "the kind of institution. Certain candidates might not be interested in a small liberal arts environment."
These are the problems, the impediments to increasing the number of Black students and faculty members at Mary Washington College. The Dalton desegregation plan is hoped to be a solution.
The new Virginia desegregation plan, officially known as "The Virginia Plan for Equal Opportunity in State-Supported Institutions of Higher Education," has to date been approved by three schools: George Mason University, the University of Virginia and Mary Washington. In a statement last month Governor John Dalton said, "the plan is simply an ex-tension for the next five years of what we have been doing for the past four years to make equal opportunity in higher education a practical reality." The plan itself has basically seven parts.
First Virginia's two predominantly Black Colleges—Norfolk State and Virginia State—will be given priority in the creation of new programs. Dalton also agreed to ask the 1979 General Assembly for financing to make the Eminent Scholars program available to these schools; the Governor hopes that this will "attract more white faculty members" to these institutions. Second, in order to increase the number of Blacks in presently predominantly White colleges and universities and the number of Whites in predominantly Black institutions, Dalton agreed to ask the General Assembly for "aid grants of $1,000 each for gifted Black and White high school students who attend institutions which have heretofore been attended predominantly by the other race." These funds are non-need based. They are essentially incentive grants.
Third, the State Council of Higher Education has increased by 33 percent the funding of summer programs for deserving Black students. Fourth, a study will be made of why minority students at community colleges do not choose to study at four year institutions. Fifth, Virginia's Equal Employment Office Coordinator will conduct on-site reviews of the present hiring practices of state-supported institutions of higher learning. The governor has said that "the state will work to-ward the objective that the proportions of people hired to fill faculty and administrative vacancies will not be less than the proportion of minority members with proper credentials in
Original Format
Newspaper
Contributor of the Digital Item
Serpas, Maria
Student Editor of the Digital Item
Williams, Megan
Files
Citation
Mello, Michael A., “BOV Adopts Dalton Plan,” HIST299, accessed July 12, 2026, https://hist299.umwhistory.org/items/show/68.