A culturally diverse climate cannot be achieved unless the relationship between minorities and the administration here improves, said one of three social scientists who assessed the University's environment for minorities during last semester's final two days.

"There is the need for greater trust between minorities and the administration . . . their efforts may not be enough to move the situation from where it is now to where it should be," Vincent Franklin said.

The group examined social and academic conditions here for minorities, as well as programs and policies for recruitment and retention of minority faculty and students, he said.

As a result of the Dec. 15 and 16 visit, Franklin said he found "the administration's efforts quite impressive . . . (they) established committees in a variety of points. There was a great amount of support."

The visit was a result of student demands for an investigation of the climate for black students at the University. Students presented a set of demands at a meeting that followed a takeover of the Telecommunications Building in April, during which students protested what they termed administrative indifference to minority concerns. The administration has since expanded its investigation to include all minority groups.

The administration's change of the students' initial demands is an example of how misconceptions and distrust arise between the two groups, Franklin said. Students perceived the change as a deviation from their initial request and were unsatisfied, he said.

While he said distrust and dissatisfaction were a logical aftermath of last spring's protest, the University still needs "a concerted effort to build trust and let the students know the administration has their best interests in heart."

Although the students' original demands specified black students' concerns, Franklin said, the University has instructed the scientists to work toward an understanding of the environment for all minorities.

University officials worked with members of Concerned Afro-American Penn State Students (CAAPS) to form the team. Among the scientists are: Vincent Franklin, associate professor of the department of history at Arizona State University and a Penn State alumnus; Joseph Russell, dean of Afro-American Affairs at Indiana University and executive director of the National Council for Black Studies; and Ione Vargus, dean of the School of Social Administration at Temple University.

The team met with Jo Anne Vanin, assistant dean of Academic Assistance Programs at the University Friday afternoon.

"They asked a range of questions about climate and community here . . . relative to minorities," she said, describing it as "an open discussion with my sharing some of my ideas."

Franklin and Vargus met with Jerry Covert, acting dean for Undergraduate Programs and chair of the President's Council on Undergraduate Retention, to discuss programs established for undergraduate retention. Covert said they based their questions on the University's actions and information gathered from discussion with University students, staff and administrators. He perceived the two members as "very thorough" individuals who seemed to be "tying all the ends together," he said.

The team was "successful in getting a good sense of the problems and initiatives undertaken," said James Stewart, director of the Black Studies Program and chairman of the Equal Opportunity Planning Committee.

The team will submit a report including general and specific recommendations to the Office of the President within 60 days of its visit.

The report will focus on "the breakdown of trust between student groups and administration," Franklin said.

Specifically, the report should include recommendations on where the University can expand in their programs. Specific suggestions for the proposed vice provost for underrepresented groups will be included.

The team will return for further investigations this semester after submitting its report, Stewart said.

"With one meeting you can't do everything," said Covert. A second meeting would be useful to the social scientists "based on their sense of need of dialogue," he added.

"(University President Bryce Jordan) was very enthusiastic and wanted to schedule (a meeting) as soon as possible," Stewart said.

Official plans for the team's return will be made after the report's submission, Franklin said. Some of the people and groups they wished to speak with had left campus before the team's visit at the end of the semester, he noted. Because of these individuals' absence and the ending of classes, he said it is possible that the team did not achieve a true sense of the campus climate.

The social scientists' visit was scheduled at the end of the semester due to team members' availability, Franklin said.

The timing was a "bad idea," said Karen Mozley, a Lion Ambassador and residence hall assistant who met with the team, adding that it would have been better if they had come at an earlier point in the semester.