U.S. News and World Report scored Southern Adventist University as No. 1 for diversity among regional universities in the South in its 2020 listings.
This ranking identifies institutions at which students are most likely to encounter undergraduates from racial or ethnic groups different from their own, the U.S. News website states.
“We’re proud to be a place where students from any ethnic background are equally welcome, loved and respected,” says David Smith, president of Southern.
Research shows that when people engage with others who are different from themselves, the result is increased creativity, improved decision-making and strengthened problem-solving, according to a 2014 article in Scientific American.
Students value this exposure to other cultures.
“Conversations on our campus reflect the real world,” says Mark Galvez, Student Association president and senior theology major. “Through food, we taste; through words, we hear; through diversity, we learn.”
With nearly 2,500 undergraduate students, Southern’s breakdown by ethnicity is 42% white, 26% Hispanic, 14% Asian, 10% African American and 7% multiracial. The university indentifies the remaining 1% as “other.”
Source: Southern Adventist University