The University, as well as employers at many companies, are making minority students a priority.
While recruiting at this university and others, many businesses target students of color for internships and jobs.
Terri LaMarco, assistant director for employer relations at Career Planning & Placement, said companies often actively recruit minorities in hopes of diversifying their staff.
"People from a range of backgrounds contribute different things," LaMarco said. "They are able to bring something to the table what others cannot."
Some students said they had some apprehension about working in an all-white environment, but the University offers plenty of opportunities and advantages to overcome their worries.
"It depends on the attitude of the people you work with," said LSA senior Tia Bradley. "There are times when it can be intimidating. There's always going to be racism in the corporate world."
Students said diversity is an advantage for workers of every ethnicity.
"You need people you can relate to," said LSA sophomore Yolanda Curry. "It's important to be around people of different cultures so everyone is not so sheltered, so everyone is aware."
LaMarco said a wide variety of companies from all over the country have demonstrated an interest in targeting students of color for a wide range of occupations.
Companies cited a simple reason for actively creating a more diverse staff: It's good for business.
"We're not big social activists. We want to sell gasoline," said Chevron Corporation's recruiting leader Mark Witzke. "It's a business imperative."
Witzke said because the minority population in Chevron's customer base is rapidly increasing, greater representation of those minorities within the company helps "to better market to those populations."
Witzke said Chevron does not have particular minority hiring goals but seeks out the best qualified for the job.
Officials of companies like Chevron and Corning Inc. said actively targeting minorities ensures that the most qualified person for the job is not missed.
George Brewster, Corning's manager of employment and recruiting, said the company focuses on finding the most "talented" employee. He said diversity is also helpful to Corning overall.
"If you're going to be a world-class company, it helps to understand all the peoples of the world and all the cultures of the world," Brewster said.
In January, the University holds a Multicultural Career Conference where companies can meet and recruit students of all ethnicities in person. This year's conference is scheduled for Jan. 28 in the Michigan Union Ballroom and Pendleton Room, and will feature representatives from Procter & Gamble, Radio Shack, Enterprise Rent-a-Car and other companies, and from graduate schools across the country.
Debbie Taylor, assistant director for multicultural services at CP&P, said many companies come to Michigan to recruit minorities because of its reputation for diversity in majors as well as student ethnicities.
Last year, a number of companies from KMart to Saks Fifth Avenue attended the conference, as well as more than 900 students.
General Electric was also represented at last year's conference. Mike Shinn, program leader for corporate university recruiting at GE, said they worked with the University in the past because of the diversity and excellence of its programs.
"The Engineering school has an outstanding program for attracting diverse students," Shinn said. "It's a good source of diverse talent."
This year, in addition to the four-hour general session beginning at noon, an interview session is scheduled where students can actually get interviews with representatives from the companies.
Students said they saw the conference as a good opportunity.
"(It's) a good place for people of color to get doors open to them," said Purva Patel, an Engineering senior.
All students of color can fill out a form with resume information to be placed in CP&P's minority student resume data base, which is given to companies looking for qualified minority students.
The University also holds a Students of Color Law Day in the spring where students can meet admissions representatives from 40 law schools.
Taylor said that while many companies have a special interest in targeting minority students, no opportunity is limited just to students of color, and that the University's programs are open to all.