With black students comprising 8.4 percent of the class of 2012, Bowdoin continues to rank among the highest in an annual survey of black enrollment at the nation's top liberal arts colleges.
Moving down the list two spots from last year, Bowdoin now has the seventh-highest percentage of African-American first years. The poll draws on information from the nation's top 30 liberal arts schools?two of which did not provide data?collected by the Journal of Blacks in Higher Education (JBHE).
The 489-student first-year class includes 41 black students, while last year's first-year class included 42 African-Americans out of 476 total students, or 8.8 percent.
Associate Dean of Multicultural Student Programs Wil Smith did not think the decrease of only one black student in the first-year class was any cause for concern, especially in light of the progress the College has made over the last 10 years. Bowdoin's demographics have changed substantially since 1998, when only 12 black first years enrolled in the College. When it arrived at Bowdoin, the first-year class of 2009 included only 3.2 percent black students, less than half (percentage-wise) of today's total.
"It's a sign that Bowdoin is broadening its perspective on who might add to the diversity on campus," Smith said. "In doing so, they've broadened their reach further south and west than in 1998."
Though he was proud of Bowdoin for "practicing what it has preached about a diverse social and intellectual environment," Smith acknowledged that Bowdoin could increase efforts to attract impressive black students.
Amherst led the pack again with a first year class composition that was 11.2 percent black, while Wellesley and Swarthmore moved up in the ranks.
"I'd like to see us be the leader," Smith said. "But not at the expense of just bringing people in, not just playing the numbers game." More important to him is implementing creative ways to find "the most talented students who happen to be black."
The black student yield, 36.3 percent, also fell short of last year's 40 percent.
The College attracts many of its black students through two weekends organized by admissions. The Bowdoin Invitational in November targets talented prospective students and The Bowdoin Experience in April gives accepted minority students a last look at the school.
Smith said the most impressive "evolution" of these programs came about several years ago, when the College asked all students, not only those of color, to host minority students for these weekends, thereby creating a more realistic college experience.
"Students are our best recruiters," said Smith. The College now has a diverse group of students who can speak from their own experiences to potential students.
Smith acknowledged that America still has a long way to go in terms of the number of black students, especially black men, in college. He also expressed hope that Bowdoin would increase its enrollment of other minorities, such as Hispanics and Native Americans, the most historically underrepresented groups at the College.
The Office of Admissions was unavailable for comment.