By Susan Thomas
The Marriott School of Management is sponsoring an informational open house tonight for students interested in learning about the opportunities available for women and underrepresented minorities within BYU''s graduate business programs.
The Marriott School is trying to raise the number of women and underrepresented minority students in its graduate programs each year.
The open house will be tonight from 5:15 - 7 p.m. in 710 TNRB. A light dinner buffet will be served and students can participate in breakout sessions to learn more about the specific graduate business programs at the Marriott School.
According to Louise Illes, director of service learning and diversity for the Marriott School, there has been a gradual increase in minority students over the past few years.
'Our aim is to continue to improve the number of underrepresented minorities in our programs to better reflect the representation of the underrepresented minorities in the church,' Illes said.
She said 8 percent of this year''s incoming students in the Master of Business Administration program and 10 percent of students in the Master of Public Administration program are minorities, a three percent increase from last year''s incoming classes.
Illes said the Master of Accountancy and Master of Information System Management programs are the least represented by minority students at the Marriott School.
Underrepresented minorities at the Marriott School include women, Hispanics, Pacific Islanders, African-Americans and Native Americans who are United States citizens and permanent residents, Illes said.
Gloria Mladineo, a second-year MBA student from Rancho Santa Margarita, Calif., said she thinks by increasing the diversity in the Marriott School''s graduate programs it will improve the overall experience students can receive.
'It''s not so much about having differences in gender and ethnicity,' Mladineo said. 'It''s more about having many differences of thought. Diverse opinions help students gain a broader base of education and help them understand different points of view that will help them better relate to other backgrounds not only in the workplace but in whatever they do.'
Illes said the reasons for recruiting minorities to the business graduate programs go beyond creating positive publicity and high rankings for BYU. The school is striving to better represent the church''s rapid international growth rates.
'Data has shown that the majority of our church is now out of the United States where there are minorities,' she said. 'It is important that the Marriott School programs are being representative of that.'
Mladineo said as the demographics of the church continue to change, The Marriott School hopes to make more opportunities for international students to come to BYU and better represent the church.
Tradition and a lack of awareness about the graduate business programs are the major reasons for the low levels of minority students in the graduate programs, Illes said.
The Marriott School has made major efforts in bringing more candidates to the program that did not attend BYU for undergraduate studies by advertising in various newspapers statewide.