The first-generation college student had a rough home life and felt lost when he came to the University of Utah in the late 1990s.

"I had no money, no knowledge about financial aid or student loans," the Oklahoma native said, "and I didn't have anyone who could help."

But then he found the U.'s Center for Ethnic Student Affairs, which houses advisers for groups focusing on Asian, black, American Indian, Latino and Pacific Islander students.

At the center, Shaw found a free book-loan program as well as social and academic support. Not only did CESA provide a place to socialize with other students of color, but its advisers also created classes such as one specifically designed to allow black male students to share their thoughts about college life.

"That class wasn't about venting our frustrations," Shaw said, "but about validating our experiences."

He graduated in 2001 with a double major in finance and economics and returned last year to earn a master's in economics, which he will finish in December.

Now, he is among ethnic students on campus concerned about CESA's future.

Even as the U. has set a goal to help build enrollment through better ethnic student recruitment and retention, CESA's budget is shrinking and its reliance on student volunteers is increasing.

"We students are volunteering our time to recruit new students of color when CESA should be protecting us and helping us graduate from college," Shaw said.

Since 2002, CESA's budget has increased 4.5 percent, while enrollment of students of color has jumped by an average of 31.1 percent across all ethnic groups. Of the about $325,000 budget, nearly $200,000 goes toward staff salaries. Other operational costs must come from the remaining money, leaving little for programming.

Octavio Villalpando, the U.'s newly appointed associate vice president for diversity, plans changes to CESA, including narrowing its focus.

He proposes extending efforts to increase diversity to all areas of campus instead of putting the onus only on entities such as CESA.

Villalpando is gathering data about ethnic students' college experiences he hopes to distribute to individual departments and colleges to encourage diversity through faculty hires, scholarships and other support programs. He has yet to determine how best to use resources, but believes the data will help.

The diversity office always has spent the bulk of its funding on faculty recruitment and retention, with $2.1 million of its $2.8 million budget going to support 120 faculty members. Villalpando plans to continue prioritizing that aspect of diversity on campus, citing research that shows a diverse faculty draws a diverse student body.

However, CESA still will play a crucial role in ensuring student success, he said.

"We want CESA [to primarily be] a student support center," he said. "I will make sure they have as much support as possible."

Villalpando points to his hiring of Rich Garcia as CESA director, filling a position that has been empty for nearly seven years, as a sign of his commitment to the center.

"It's incumbent upon myself as a new director," Garcia said, "to find what the center needs to achieve its ultimate goal of student retention."

He knows CESA's recruitment efforts may hamper its ability to retain current students, but he's still assessing CESA's mission statement and the budget needed to carry it out.

And he's encouraged by U. administrators' commitment to "look at diversity institutionally instead of looking at it in only one location." Instead of solely relying on groups such as CESA to increase and promote diversity, all departments and programs will be charged with encouraging and supporting diversity and equity.

Shaw wants the new leaders to proceed cautiously.

But, he said, "we finally have people in place who have enough political capital and credibility to garner additional funding and support."

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* SHEENA MCFARLAND can be contacted at smcfarland@sltrib.com or 801-257-8619.