Minority students have a person to turn to in each ISU college for resources, support and academic help.

Each college has a professional staff member, called a Minority Liaison Officer, to coordinate with faculty and staff to provide minority students with resources to succeed.

Although these officers exist across campus, their duties and resources vary from college to college, said Howard Shapiro, vice provost for undergraduate programs.

“Each college tailors the program to fit their individual needs,” he said.

Frank Bell Jr., minority liaison officer for the College of Design, said some of the officers take part in recruitment efforts and work to increase minority retention and graduation rates.

In recruitment, the officers look for large pockets of minorities and demonstrate that Iowa State provides support for minority students. Once the students come to Iowa State, the Minority Liaison Officer helps the student understand what is expected of him or her academically, he said.

Officers act as mediators between the student and faculty members and as a resource person. By working closely with the student’s academic adviser, officers make sure students have access to the necessary resources, Bell said.

“We’re not the primary reason that students are retained. We identify the barriers that keep students from being retained,” he said.

Not all barriers are academic, Shapiro said. Minority students coming to Iowa State often find themselves in a new cultural environment, and this poses a challenge for many, he said. Minority students often leave, not because of academic deficiencies, but because of cultural differences, he said.

To that end, the officers help students take advantage of programs such as Multicultural Learning Communities and develop relationships with the students.

“Everything I do here is built on relationships,” Bell said.

The officers are overseen by the Minority Student Services Coordinating Team, which meets every two weeks and continually reviews policies and programs. Officers also coordinate extensively with Minority Student Affairs, said Teresa Branch, assistant vice president for student affairs. This helps maximize the program’s effectiveness, especially if the student transfers from college to college, Shapiro said.

“We want to make sure students don’t fall through the cracks,” he said.

The program has been a major boost for minority students, Bell said.

“I first came to Iowa State in 1985 as an undergraduate student. We didn’t have these programs. In 17 years, we’ve come a long way,” he said.

Giving minority students the support they need has increased retention and graduation rates, Shapiro said.

“Our goal is to have no difference between graduation rates of minorities and of the rest of the student population,” Shapiro said.

Bell says he often finds himself assisting non-minority students as well.

“Things that help minority students ends up helping all students,” he said.