Promoting diversity on campus

Villa named assistant vice provost for minority affairs

With Spanish as his native language, Jose Simon Villa struggled to communicate with his elementary school teachers and classmates in the United States during the 1950s.

This language barrier was just one of the obstacles Villa had to overcome to get where he is today -- Ohio State's assistant vice provost for minority affairs.

A son of migrant workers, Villa and his family rarely spent more than a couple of months in the same city. This lifestyle hampered his ability to learn the English language, causing him to fall behind in school. He began to believe that graduating from high school would be an unachievable dream.

Jose Villa

"All of these things prohibited me from having a normal educational experience," Villa said. "I felt like I was always a step behind academically. It made me feel like education wasn't worth the challenge."

But Villa said his parents encouraged him to pursue his education, and he took their advice to heart. Now, after earning a doctorate degree, Villa hopes to help other Hispanic and minority students at Ohio State pursue their professional dreams.

"Because of my experiences, I can relate to the difficulties and problems of college students," Villa said. "It's because of my background that I continue to advocate the importance of an education. As my dad used to say: 'An education, nobody can take away from you.'"

Villa said he is encouraged by the direction Ohio State is heading toward improving diversity on campus. He cited Ohio State's Diversity Action Plan as the driving force behind the University's progress.

He also is pleased with a recent report that ranks Ohio State in the top 20 for awarding doctoral degrees to Hispanic students (see accompanying story below).

Villa plans to help the University continue its momentum and strive for improvement in the future.

"I want to continue to increase the expectations and the accomplishments of The Ohio State University," Villa said. "I want Hispanic and minority students to realize that Ohio State has a strong program for recruitment and retention."

Mac Stewart, vice provost for minority affairs, said Villa's professional experience will be an asset to the department.

"Dr. Villa is an accomplished professional who is personally committed to making sure that diversity is an institutional reality on campus," Stewart said. "His vast experience will help to make Ohio State a leading institution for educating minority students."

Among Villa's priorities for his position are: to develop a mentoring program for undergraduate students; to help position Ohio State as a leading institution for enrollment of Hispanic and minority students; to create academic programs that focus on ethnic studies of the Hispanic population; and to increase the number of Hispanic faculty and students. He also plans to work closely with the Hispanic Association of Colleges and Universities to improve networking and recruitment opportunities for Ohio State.

For Villa, who earned a bachelor of science degree in curriculum and instruction and a master's degree in guidance and counseling from the University of Oregon, helping students succeed academically has been a part of his professional life. After serving as a mentor to a doctoral student at Ohio State, he realized the importance of serving as a role model in higher education.

Villa came to Ohio State in 1977 to pursue a doctorate in higher education administration, earning his degree in December 1982.

"I know how difficult it is to get to where I am today," Villa said. "When I went through my doctoral program, I didn't have anyone to help me. My experiences have enabled me to understand the difficulties students will encounter and to help them learn how to endure these challenges."

Villa served the Ohio State community for more than a decade as an advisor for the Office of Developmental Education and later as a coordinator for the Office of Hispanic Affairs. He then joined the Ohio Department of Education in 1990 as the state coordinator of the homeless children program and state director of migrant education. He coordinated the Education of Homeless Children and Youth Program and also directed the State Migrant Education Program and wrote the program's annual state plans.

In 2000, he began working as an education program specialist for the U.S. Department of Education, where he served as an expert on migrant education. He also worked with colleges and universities to ensure that high school equivalency programs and the College Assistant Migrant Programs were helping children of migrant workers obtain their General Educational Development (GED) diploma and attend college to meet their educational goals.

Villa said he is pleased to have the opportunity to make a difference at his alma mater.

"I just feel happy that I am back at Ohio State," Villa said.

Hispanic Outlook ranks OSU 17th in granting doctoral degrees to Hispanic students

Ohio State is among the top 20 higher education institutions for awarding doctoral degrees to Hispanic students. According to The Hispanic Outlook in Higher Education journal, Ohio State ranked No. 17 in the United States during the 1999-2000 academic year. This ranking is up from No. 33 during the previous academic year.

Mac Stewart, vice provost for minority affairs, says the ranking shows that Ohio State is making progress toward achieving its goal of becoming one of the nation's top universities for awarding doctoral degrees to minority students.

"In one year, we have made significant progress toward achieving our goal," Stewart said. "The entire University will benefit from this achievement and it will help us to recruit both graduate and undergraduate students."

Stewart attributes the ranking to Ohio State's efforts to improve programs and climate on campus. He said the University's Diversity Action Plan, which began in 2000, will help lead Ohio State toward its goal.

Stewart pointed to recent rankings that appeared in the Black Issues in Higher Education journal as another sign of Ohio State's progress toward awarding doctoral degrees to minority groups. The magazine reported that Ohio State was ranked No. 4 for granting doctoral degrees for African Americans and was ranked in the top 20 for American Indian/Alaskan Native students. This data was compiled over a five-year period, from 1995 to 1999.

Ohio State receives $1.5 million grant to recruit children of migrants

Ohio State will use a $1.5 million grant from the U.S. Department of Education to recruit and retain students who are children of migrant, agricultural or seasonal workers.

The five-year grant, which will fund Ohio State's residential College Assistance Migrant Program (CAMP), will help students from migrant working families pursue a higher education.

JosŽ Villa, interim director of CAMP and assistant vice provost for minority affairs, says the program gives aspiring students a better opportunity for earning a college degree. He said Ohio State is the only institution in the state to have this type of program.

"The program improves the opportunity for migrant students to be successful," Villa said. "These are bright students in spite of all the inhibitors associated with migrating."

Villa said the program will help fund 30 students the first year, and an additional five students each year thereafter for a total of 200 students. Currently, he said about 10 students from migrant families attend Ohio State each year.

Mac Stewart, vice provost for minority affairs, said Ohio State has the resources and dedication to make this program a success.

"This grant shows that the U.S. Department of Education has faith in the leadership of Ohio State to address the needs of this population," Stewart said. "The department also realizes that Ohio State has a track record of assisting many minority students in pursuing their education."

The program will help students with educational and residential expenses and provide support for other needs, including academic counseling and tutoring. Funds will be set aside to make sure personal, leadership and cultural opportunities are available and to provide health, vision and dental care.

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