WEBVTT 00:00:03.940 --> 00:00:05.940 I can remember when we were really trying to concentrate on 00:00:07.200 --> 00:00:12.607 underrepresented populations and as I recall 00:00:12.640 --> 00:00:17.546 you're years there, the increase was really substantial and 00:00:17.579 --> 00:00:21.447 underrepresented students. Do you recall any of that was really important 00:00:21.480 --> 00:00:26.967 to me? I don't know if you recall this, but so along with, you know, 00:00:27.000 --> 00:00:31.006 working issue issue for so long and being an undergraduate 00:00:31.039 --> 00:00:34.476 since I was working there and I love school, I went and got a master's 00:00:34.509 --> 00:00:40.207 degree and PhD and my dissertation was really looking at access um to hire 00:00:40.240 --> 00:00:43.097 at for underrepresented populations. So that's always been kind of a 00:00:43.130 --> 00:00:48.076 passion of mine. And so yes, we really developed a lot of pre college 00:00:48.109 --> 00:00:52.576 programs. We actually had a unit in our office that was really dedicated 00:00:52.609 --> 00:00:58.247 to that, to really address that and try and identify and recruit the very 00:00:58.280 --> 00:01:03.247 top underrepresented students and also provide access to any qualified 00:01:03.280 --> 00:01:06.807 underrepresented students and provide the support that was needed. So that 00:01:06.840 --> 00:01:11.066 was again, a very, very big priority for us in terms of the more different 00:01:11.099 --> 00:01:17.016 and better in terms of the top academic students getting them. As I recall 00:01:17.049 --> 00:01:22.626 that the merit scholar program really increased during that period of time. 00:01:22.659 --> 00:01:28.076 Also, I'm sure, and that was that was not really me. I mean it was I was 00:01:28.109 --> 00:01:32.656 certainly part of it, but it was a really university wide effort and I 00:01:32.689 --> 00:01:37.076 think the beginning of the honors college had a dramatic impact on that 00:01:37.109 --> 00:01:41.456 when we were able to get it named by um craig and Barbara Barrett that was 00:01:41.489 --> 00:01:48.066 a big help for us and recruitment and really it was I think um both this 00:01:48.099 --> 00:01:52.227 was during the course um presidency and milk click as provost. They both 00:01:52.260 --> 00:01:56.406 were just extremely supportive of that as well and we were, we really were 00:01:56.439 --> 00:02:02.686 second fiddle to to you of a um when I during most of my career and I 00:02:02.719 --> 00:02:05.397 really just feel like it was towards the end that we started to make an 00:02:05.430 --> 00:02:10.207 impact and I just, I still receive all my issue emails and whatever to and 00:02:10.240 --> 00:02:14.376 I just read again and notice about how many Flinn scholars we've gotten 00:02:14.409 --> 00:02:19.386 and I tell you I just was beaming because when we started we'd get a 00:02:19.419 --> 00:02:24.367 handful of the 20 a handful and now we're getting almost all of them. So 00:02:24.400 --> 00:02:28.837 I'm so happy was it Ted Humphrey that started the honors comments at that 00:02:28.870 --> 00:02:33.147 time and I worked very closely with Ted. Yeah. Yeah because that was 00:02:33.180 --> 00:02:38.497 really a large bonus for the university and brought in a lot of top 00:02:38.530 --> 00:02:42.337 students. What a thing to have on your resume that you attended the honors 00:02:42.370 --> 00:02:45.617 college there and and I think it has an I know it has a national 00:02:45.650 --> 00:02:49.487 reputation so um Rutgers has honors colleges and we're just building this 00:02:49.520 --> 00:02:54.596 new honors dorm and honors residents. Um it's which is beautiful and they 00:02:54.629 --> 00:02:59.177 just published something that was talking about the um increase in S. A. T. 00:02:59.210 --> 00:03:03.606 Scores at Rutgers for the honor students and they had a group of about 00:03:03.639 --> 00:03:07.096 six other honors college is that they used for comparison, and Arizona 00:03:07.129 --> 00:03:11.449 state was in that group of sex and that made me very proud.