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BY Sherry F. Pruitt

JONESBORO -- The Department of Biological Sciences has got a head start on recruiting Spanish-speaking students to the Arkansas State University campus with the development of a departmental Web site featuring both English and Spanish.

Dr. Martin Huss, associate professor of botany, is the Web master for the site, but he acknowledged that a group effort led to the effort to create a mirror image of the department's site in English.

Dr. Al Romero, chairman of the department, said Hispanics are one of three groups that are least represented in natural sciences, along with blacks and American Indians.

He said there is a tendency for minorities to find colleges or universities that have a high representation of their group and enroll at those institutions.

That's the reason it's difficult for Arkansas State to attract and recruit minorities, he added.

Dr. Malathi Srivatsan, assistant professor of molecular biology, said she has been asked why a Spanish Web site is necessary when many or most students speak English.

She explained that the Spanish Web site is important to students' parents who may not speak English but want to be involved in the college selection process. It might make the parents feel more comfortable about sending their children to the Jonesboro campus, she noted.

Romero added that the Spanish Web site may attract students from Spanish-speaking and Latin American countries because the ASU site will be pulled into view by key Spanish words.

At the time the Spanish portion of the site was developed, the English side was updated, Huss said. A group of 4-5 faculty worked on the project for several months. Srivatsan noted that because the faculty members are professionals in their fields the Web content will be accurate.

The Web site is a continual work in progress, with things added and incorporated to make it information-rich, student-friendly and open to diverse views, Huss said.

"The Web site will be a portal for parents and biology degree-seeking students who want to learn about departmental programs, faculty, course requirements and student organizations," Huss said.

In the past students would have gone to a library or relied on word of mouth to find out about institutions of higher education, Huss related.

"We live in the information age. One of the first things they do is look on the Internet," he said.

The professors said that ASU President Dr. Les Wyatt was pleased with the department's effort and added that he initiated a process for the official ASU Web site to have part of its content, particularly pages that deal with admissions, duplicated in Spanish.

Huss said ASU is on the leading edge of a trend to establish college and university Web sites in Spanish. The University of Michigan has a university site devoted to Spanish, the professors said.

Other initiatives the department is taking to recruit students, particularly Hispanics and other minorities to campus, are the establishment of an electronic journal for students and faculty, the development of brochures and a university program, in which faculty phoned potential students.

"The public doesn't know about the exciting things that are happening on campus ...," Srivatsan said.

sherry@jonesborosun.com