Digital Scholarship and Initiatives

Nealy’s article focuses especially on diversity at the University of North Carolina at Pembroke.  The piece contains a short history of the school, explaining its start as the Croatan Normal School in 1887, when it opened with only 15 students.  The author talks about the strong Native American identity of the University, due to its history, as well as the current multicultural identity it has acquired today.  Twenty-six percent of the students are African American, 18 percent American Indian, 3 percent Hispanic and 2 percent Asian.   Nealy makes the observation that, although American Indians seem somewhat “underrepresented” at UNCP, the Lumbee tribe is more concerned about the low high school graduation rates of American Indians.  Nealy ends her article with an observation from a student of the university about the diversity of the school: “You’ll see students of every color sitting at one table in provocative conversation.”  The students are exposed to “the face of the work force” that they will soon be a part of.