Kansas City, Mo. ? When Kameron Mack was choosing a college, he considered two: predominantly black Clark Atlanta University and the predominantly white Kansas University.

KU won out.

After a recruiter visited a college fair at Mack’s church and he considered the education he would get as a journalism major, Mack set aside his trepidations about life as an African-American on a mostly white campus.

“I thought maybe I’d get a more comfortable education at Clark,” Mack said. “But for what I want to do, KU was a better school. I can’t let race or fear come in the way of that.”

Colleges post records

This fall, Mack joined the second-largest group of African-American freshmen in KU history. In fact, the university’s African-American freshman class grew by 28 percent this year, and the number of freshman Latino students increased by 23 percent.

Overall, the university this year has the most racially diverse student body in school history.

Universities in Kansas and Missouri — and nationwide — posted record minority enrollments this year, thanks in part to the diverse freshmen classes they were able to attract.

l At the University of Missouri, minorities in the freshman class increased by 27 percent, with African-American and Latino freshmen groups each growing by 27 percent — record highs.

l At Kansas State University, a 40 percent increase in Latino freshmen and record high numbers of African-American freshmen helped push the school’s total minority enrollment to its highest levels ever.

l The University of Missouri-Kansas City posted a 6.1 percent gain in its total minority enrollment and a 17 percent increase in Hispanic freshmen.

The gains this year are impressive, but recruiters acknowledge they have more work to do. For example, African-Americans make up just 5.6 percent of the student body at the University of Missouri and only 3.5 percent at KU.

“We have a long way to go,” said Lee Furbeck, who is in charge of multicultural recruitment at KU.

The need for diversity

Universities have long embraced the need for diverse student bodies. They want to reflect society for their students. They see a responsibility to give all students the benefit of a college degree.

And the more diverse the campus is, the more likely they are to keep the minorities they recruit.

The efforts have paid off nationwide. The number of minority students grew by 50 percent from 1995 to 2005, according to a recently released study of minorities in higher education.

“It’s encouraging news, but hardly surprising,” said Mikyung Ryu, the study’s author, explaining that demographic shifts have made high schools more diverse. Also, more students understand the need for a college degree.

One of KU’s recruiters is in charge of reaching students as young as sixth grade to help get them ready for college, said Furbeck, associate director of the office of admissions and scholarships.

Recruiters offer students of color the same bragging points they tell others, said Chuck May, senior associate director of admissions at the University of Missouri.

They sell minorities on the scholarship benefits, the opportunities and how friendly the campus is, May said.

The limited pool of minority high school students is the biggest obstacle, recruiters said.

High-achieving students are recruited like crazy. And that’s why it’s so important to connect with younger students, Furbeck said.

Mack, who is from Wichita, is glad he chose KU. He already is an executive board member of the Black Student Union, but he is also part of the University Dance Company, an organization he described as “all white.”

His fears — that he would not fit in or be accepted at the university — have not been realized.

“I don’t think it was as big of a deal as I made it out to be,” Mack said.