Although the number of minority students at Kansas University slowly increases each year, Jimmy Banks thinks black students are still underrepresented on campus.

Banks, president of KU Black Alumni and a 1978 KU business graduate, pointed out the black student population was proportionately higher 30 years ago.

“When you look at the student population of KU now and the student population when I was going to school, it’s well under 5 percent black now,” he said.

In fall 2003, 3 percent of KU students — 809 of 26,814 — were black.

In 2002, Banks and several other KU graduates resurrected the inactive KU Black Alumni, which was established in 1976, by creating a Web site. The group has had monthly meetings since October 2003.

KU Black Alumni hopes to retain and attract black students at KU through its mentoring program, recruitment efforts and work with the Office of Admissions and Scholarships, and the Office of Multicultural Affairs. The organization currently has about 35 dues-paying members, but outdated addresses left over from the 1980s have slowed the contact process.

“We’ve been building our database gradually, but it takes time,” said Banks, adding that most of the officers of KU Black Alumni graduated in the 1970s.

KU Black Alumni has participated in panel discussions and career day programs through the Office of Multicultural Affairs. In 2003-2004, the group focused on its mentoring program, Banks said.

Based on students’ responses to a questionnaire, the mentoring program tried to match black students with a member of the KU Black Alumni who has similar backgrounds or interests.

“We wanted to explain the role a mentor could play once they graduated from college,” Banks said. “It is designed to give them good practical knowledge.”

Robert Page, director of multicultural affairs at KU, said retention of minority students depended on helping students to be academically successful, which the mentoring program achieves through career exploration.

Melva Landrum, Minneapolis, Minn., senior, participated in the mentoring program but did not interact much with her mentor due to a busy schedule.

“We talked several times during the school year, through e-mail because she lives in South Africa, but that was mainly it,” Landrum said. “I really didn’t have time to stay in contact with her.”

Landrum said she enjoyed talking to her mentor about her life and family but said the target of the program should be freshmen. She also said the objectives of the program should be tweaked.

“I think they should find the outcome they would like to have with the program and stress that to the students and mentors,” Landrum said.

Banks said KU Black Alumni would continue to work with the Office of Admissions and Scholarships to recruit black students to KU.

Claudia Mercado, associate director of admissions and scholarships, said the office spent the past year planning for recruitment efforts. She said KU Black Alumni would be writing letters and calling to encourage black students and their parents who are still deciding which school to attend.

“We’re looking at utilizing them to come and visit students here and also off campus, and also having them correspond with prospective students and their parents,” she said.

The alumni group hopes to have a homecoming weekend event in October, Banks said. And although plans were not finalized, he hopes to have a tailgate before the KU-Kansas State football game Oct. 9 and a dinner and reception Oct. 8.