Brooklyn College named ‘most ethnically diverse’ campus

September 18, 2020 Editorial Staff

The Brooklyn College campus in Flatbush. Photo: Raanan Geberer/Brooklyn Eagle

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Brooklyn College, whose students speak more than 90 languages at home, has been named by U.S. News & World Report as the “most ethnically diverse” campus in its North Region for the third straight year.

From its opening in the 1930s, Brooklyn College has been an institution that attracts the children of immigrants or people who are immigrants themselves, among others. Today, 38 percent of the college’s students hail from foreign countries, the college reported.

A recent article in Brooklyn College Magazine profiled the college’s recently opened Immigrant Student Success Office. The office is headed by Jesus Perez, a 1995 graduate who came to the U.S. from Mexico when he was 9 years old. The center’s core mission is to help immigrant students, who often face hurdles that other students don’t.

Among Brooklyn College’s Rhodes scholars, two are immigrants: Zujaja Taugeer from Pakistan and Eugene Shenderov from the Soviet Union, the same article said. Among the college’s previous two finalists for the prestigious awards, one is from India and the other is the son of Chinese immigrants.

Students at Brooklyn College come from a wide variety of countries, including Russia, Jamaica, Honduras, Trinidad, Bangladesh, Israel, Ukraine and Pakistan. The college also includes a multitude of ethnic groups, from Caribbean Americans to Orthodox Jews.

A Brooklyn College news release breaks down the racial composition of the student body as, roughly, 30 percent white, 24 percent Black, 22 percent Hispanic and 19 percent Asian.

Other categories in which Brooklyn College was named included social mobility (No. 6 in the North), best public regional university (No. 15 in the North), best for veterans (No. 33 in the North) and “best regional university” (No. 62 in the North).

“Once again, Brooklyn College has proved to be a leader in offering high-quality and affordable educational opportunities for the diverse city it serves,” Brooklyn College President Michelle J. Anderson said. “We are grateful for this recognition that serves as a testament to our dedicated faculty, students, and staff.”