Members of the legislature's budget-writing committee say the University of Delaware needs to do a better job attracting and graduating black students.
Some member of the Joint Finance Committee expressed concern about the low percentage of black students at UD on Monday during the school's funding request for the upcoming fiscal year.
Committee co-chair Sen. Harris McDowell III, a Wilmington Democrat, noted that less than 5 percent of UD's student body is black, compared to 17 percent at the University of Mississippi.
University President Patrick Harker said UD admitted its most diverse class ever last fall.
School officials also noted that the number of applications from prospective black students is up more than 25 percent this year, but they agreed that more needs to be done to increase diversity.
