Durango Herald Staff Writer
U.S. News & World Report ranks Fort Lewis College ninth for campus diversity among liberal arts colleges in its 2021 Best Colleges rankings.
The top three liberal arts colleges for campus diversity, according to the rankings released Monday, were Soka University of America in Aliso Viejo, California; Harvey Mudd College in Claremont, California; and Pine Manor College in Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts.
Students of color now represent 57% of the student body at FLC, and 45% of students are Native American or Alaska Native with 185 tribal nations and Alaska Native villages represented.
FLC has seen an increase each year in student body diversity, with a 7% increase since 2018 when students of color first represented more than half of all students.
“Diversity is valued at our college and we are now well-poised to strengthen and enhance equity and inclusion for all students, faculty and staff,” said Lee Bitsóí, associate vice president of diversity affairs, in a news release.
FLC’s board of trustees pledged in August to critically examine how to address institutionalized racism on campus.
“No matter our differences, our backgrounds, we can come together to care for each other to create a better version of FLC,” President Tom Stritikus, said in a news release.