Design Faculty Votes To Increase Admissions From Minority Groups

The faculty of the Graduate School of Design has approved measures to intensify recruitment of qualified students and professors from minority groups.

At present there are no black faculty members and only four black students in a total GSD enrollment of about 250.

The measures were among several proposals aimed at "mobilizing the resources of the school in terms of manpower, experience, and funds to study the urban crisis," Jose Luis Sert, Dean of the Faculty of Design, said yesterday.

Actions Taken

Major motions passed at the meeting April 19 include:

* Encouraging students from a variety of cultural backgrounds to apply for admission.

* Recruiting faculty from among representatives of the groups affected by the urban crisis.

* Recommending that the GSD focus its curriculum on the urban crisis, particularly on the environmental problems of under-privileged minorities.

Sert said that the GSD is studying the possibility of inviting prospective students from minority groups to attend summer school classes, "which would give them an overview of the profession."

Sert added that a number of professors have expressed willingness to visit other colleges to recruit under-privileged students to the GSD.

The problem in the cities is so urgent and so vast that no effective solution can be achieved until radical programs are put into effect," Sert said.

He called for a "collaborative effort of all departments in the school towards the improvement of housing for lower income groups."

Sert blamed this country's outmoded zoning laws and federal legislation for hindering progress in design of low-cost living units. "The United States is one of the most backward countries in the world in low-cost housing," he said.

With improvement of Design School curriculum, revision of the laws, and a more racially conscious student body, the school could contribute significantly to the solution of the urban crisis, Sert said,