Efforts to increase diversity on campus have paid off for the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point, as the university has achieved its most diverse student body since its establishment in 1894.

"It has been a focus this past year, campuswide, to increase the student diversity," said Stephen Ward, UW-Stevens Point's executive director of university relations and communications. "The admissions office has made a greater effort, which has paid off."

The UW-Stevens Point Admissions Office has put an emphasis on recruiting students with more diverse backgrounds. One way it has done this is by reaching out to students earlier in their high school careers, said Bob Tomlinson, vice chancellor for student affairs at UW-Stevens Point.

"We [now] start working with students during their junior year," Tomlinson said. "We invite them to campus — to a leadership retreat, for instance. We stay in touch with those students."

Outreach to communities with more diverse populations, as well as word of mouth by students, have also been contributors to the university's recent success.

"Once [students] get on our campus and get a feel for the support and community on campus, they feel a lot better about coming to Stevens Point," Tomlinson said. "Once our students are here, once they experience some success, whether socially or in the classroom, they go home and tell people. Our best recruiters are our good students."

UW-Stevens Point also has approximately 65 new international students studying on its campus this year, Tomlinson said.

China, Peru, Ecuador, Germany, England, Australia and Poland, among other countries, are all represented.

Administrators feel increasing the variety of ethnic backgrounds represented on campus will help everyone have a more positive college experience.

"Just last week, a professor was telling me he had noticed a significant difference in the makeup of the class," Ward said. "It has sparked much more interesting, diverse conversations in his class setting and has brought energy to his classroom."

Both Tomlinson and Ward agree bringing diversity to UW-Stevens Point helps the city’s community as a whole, and it better prepares students for the "real world."

"There's more exposure to diverse backgrounds on campus, and [students] are going to be encouraged to explore and see what a big world it is," said Ward.

Tomlinson agreed, saying Central Wisconsin, for the most part, lacks a lot of diversity.

"Students now have the opportunity to interact with all kinds of people from other cities and all kinds of backgrounds," Tomlinson said. "Everyone benefits from having a more diverse campus."