August 25, 2003 — On August 21, 2003, the College of Humanities became a presenting sponsor of the “Liga de Futbol Soccer Mexico-Utah,” a Latino soccer league comprising 80 teams along the Wasatch Front. About 1,300 youths play in the Liga.
The College sought this sponsorship opportunity as part of its ongoing initiative to embrace and encourage diversity within its student body.
According to Robert Newman, dean of the College of Humanities, “We believe the Humanities are central to any university, ours included. It is imperative to our unique role in educating the hearts and minds of students that we diversify the College. A diverse learning environment promotes personal growth for all students.”
The College intends to launch several outreach initiatives into Utah’s minority communities in order to let them know that “the promise of higher education exists for them and their children,” said Dean Newman. The College will seek innovative ways to deliver this message in venues where people routinely gather. Nearly 2,000 members of the Hispanic community attend Liga soccer matches on three soccer fields each weekend.
Sponsorship of the Liga will enable the College of Humanities to be present at these fields to distribute information about scholarship opportunities and the benefits of a humanities education. Additionally, the College will be able to mail information into the homes of the players and will have the opportunity to raise awareness among the greater Latino community through various Hispanic media outlets.
The College’s logo in Spanish will eventually appear on all player uniforms. “It will be nice to see ‘La Universidad de Utah: Colegio de Humanidades’ on the children’s jerseys,” Dean Newman said. “Will diversity happen overnight? No, but we think that the way to accelerate diversity is to visibly become a part of the communities we wish to attract, and to do so in ways that are meaningful to them.”
About the College of Humanities
The College of Humanities confers about 20 percent of the University of Utah’s undergraduate diplomas. As the foundational core of higher education, the College teaches students to think critically and to interpret, humanize, and broadly communicate ideas and discoveries. It 170-strong faculty seek to prepare students for successful careers and good citizenship in an increasingly complex and pluralistic society. Interdisciplinary emphases include international studies, applied ethics, and literacy studies. The College of Humanities includes departments and programs in Communication, English, History, Languages & Literature, Linguistics, Philosophy, and Middle East Studies.