The new dean of the Honors College said his mission is to diversify the college's student population.

Davis-Undiano was appointed dean of the Honors College this year.

He is the sponsor for the Latino fraternity and sorority.

He is a second generation Mexican-American.

Dean Robert Con Davis-Undiano said he has been contacting minority student associations and other minority groups in hopes of making minorities feel comfortable at the Honors College. He said he thinks many minorities are eligible for the Honors College but do not know they meet the eligibility criteria.

"There are diverse cultures in our midst that are not understood," Davis-Undiano said. "A real attempt to break down those boundaries can go a long way."

He said the newly developed peer-mentoring program is one element of the Honors College's campaign to reach out to minorities.

"About half of the students we are mentoring are minority students," Davis-Undiano said.

He said he hopes those students develop relationships with their mentors who can inform them of the benefits that come from being a part of the Honors College community. To better serve minorities, he said he asked a panel of minority students to speak to the peer mentors during their training session last week.

Jesse Trevino, psychology senior, was one of the students on that panel. He said he hoped to relay to the mentors what it feels like to be a minority at OU.

"I felt I had to share the harsh reality that some minority students go through sometimes in order to help the mentors realize how important it was that they really try and reach out to their students," Trevino said.

Davis-Undiano said Trevino and others would serve as student leaders who can share information about the Honors College with other minority students. He said he is encouraged by these student leaders' involvement in the outreach to minorities.

"The student support could not be better," Davis-Undiano said. "It's strong. It's visionary."

McKenna Brady, human relations sophomore, said she is also excited about the emphasis on reaching out to minorities and the effect that will have on honors courses.

"It's good to have knowledge of other places in the world," Brady said. "Because the honors classes are so discussion-based, you can learn a lot from minority students about their cultures and other countries."

Brady said there were only about three or four minorities out of 22 students in her last honors class. She said she doesn't think the Honors College has done a good job of letting students know about the opportunities it offers in the past.

"As far as I know, they only send out e-mails to Honors College students," Brady said. "They should send out e-mails to all of OU's students telling them what it takes to be eligible."

Davis-Undiano said he is trying to change that. He said he sent out nearly 800 letters to minority students this summer notifying them of the advantages of the Honors College and the requirements necessary to join. He said he plans to follow up with these students when grades are released in the fall.

"We're going to figure out what we can do so we can enrich the culture of the Honors College," Davis-Undiano said. "It's going to be an ongoing effort and we'll do whatever it takes."
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