As Augsburg University's Student Body Grows More Diverse, Racial Fault Lines Are Exposed

Zakariya Abdullahi arrived at Augsburg University (MN) in fall 2017 — the first time students of color outnumbered whites in the incoming class, a milestone on the private campus founded by Norwegian Lutherans 150 years ago. This academic year, the school has been forced to take an unflinching look at how it is adjusting to a rapid demographic shift that ushered in more students like Abdullahi, the first in his Somali-American family to go to college. The Minneapolis university has made diversity central in its pitch to prospective students and donors, drawing national recognition for its success in attracting students of color. That has been the easier part.