Current Virginia Union University students appear to support the university’s push for enrollment diversity.

VUU President Hakim J. Lucas announced recently that by the fall 2024 semester, the university wants 25 percent of the student population to be Hispanic. A cohort of 30 Latino students started classes this year as the first step in building up that population.

VUU is not unique. Historically Black colleges and universities across the country have engaged in various initiatives to increase student enrollment. The Pew Research Center reported in 2017 that 15 percent of students attending a historically Black institutions are non-Black.

At a few of those schools, a diverse enrollment has upended their founding mission of serving Black students.

In 2019, the Washington Post reported that Black students are already a minority group at a handful of historically Black schools. A chief example is Bluefield State College in West Virginia — an HBCU founded in 1895 — where white students have been the majority for more than a decade.

However, most HBCUs have been able to retain their identities and historic traditions while building up their otherwise static enrollment.

At VUU, Dr. Lucas’ announcement is garnering support.

Interviews with several current and former students showed an endorsement of a larger enrollment of Latino students, with those voicing opinions saying they believe a diverse student population would enhance campus culture.

Byron Cooks, a sophomore studying business, said he trusts the university’s direction, adding he welcomes the right of students to choose their university.

“I chose to come here because it was the right decision for me.” Mr. Cooks said. “I’d welcome any student who chooses to do what’s right for them.”

Joy Robbins, a junior business major, said she enrolled at VUU because of the culture.

“I think going to a college where people look like me, talk like me, act like me is special,” Ms. Robbins said. “It’s the culture. That’s the most important thing.”

VUU alumnus Jamon K. Phenix also voiced support.

Mr. Phenix served as president of VUU’s Student Government Association in 2018-19. He believes these types of enrollment initiatives speak to the mission of all HBCUs — to serve marginalized communities.

“Uplifting one marginalized group automatically impacts and uplifts the next group, and I think that’s what makes us different from Virginia Commonwealth University,” Mr. Phenix said. “I think they’re amazing at what they do, but we are unique in finding the most downtrodden and turning them into the next Douglas Wilder or the next Maggie Walker.”

When Mr. Phenix attended VUU, he said the university cultivated a culture of learning and cultural awareness. Mr. Phenix said enrollment diversity would support and educate the growing population of Hispanics in Richmond, offer new cultural experi- ences for students and fuse culture concepts together while also allowing the students to retain their identity.

“When we talk about Black issues and when we talk about the history of abuse of African-Americans in this country,” he said, “I think it’s interchangeable when we talk about brown issues, when we talk about poverty in Richmond, in the Commonwealth and this country.”