During the last 10 years, Athens County’s population has grown by about 4 percent, with minorities making up nearly 65 percent of that growth.
Jumps in the number of black, Latino, Asian and multi-racial residents accounted for 1,642 of the county’s 2,534 new residents, according to 2010 census data released last week.
The county’s Asian population increased the most, jumping by 590 people to match blacks as the largest minority group in the county.
Athens County is still more than 90 percent white, with Asian and black residents each making up 2.74 percent of the population. Latinos make up 1.55 percent of the population, while multi-racial residents account for 2.1 percent of the population.
But even with a population in which 9 of every 10 residents is white, the county is a hub of diversity compared to other counties in Southeast Ohio.
Each of the six counties that border Athens’ ranks among the whitest in the state, and each has a population that is at least 96 percent white.
County officials say Athens’ minority population is boosted because the county is home to Ohio University and Hocking College.
“OU plays a major role in many different parts of life in the county, including bringing in the diverse set of people who teach and work there,” said Nick Claussen, spokesman for Athens County Job and Family Services.
Of OU’s 3,795 employees and faculty, 772 of them are minorities or international, according to OU’s Office of Institutional Research.
“The growth of the university as well as of Hocking College has helped our minority population numbers,” Claussen said.
City Mayor Paul Wiehl added that the university’s steady expansion has boosted the city’s population, as well as the county’s population.
“We saw our population go up more than 11 percent and a lot of that can be accounted for by the increase of students at OU during the last 10 years,” Wiehl said.
Overall, OU’s enrollment has increased by about 2,000 students since 2000, and minority and international student enrollment has followed a similar upward trend.
This year, OU has 3,632 international and minority students on its Athens campus, up from just 2,306 in 2000, according to the Office of Institutional Research.
“As a university, we’ve made some strides by trying to recruit students as well as faculty and staff from diverse racial and ethnic backgrounds,” said Brian Bridges, OU’s vice provost for Diversity, Access and Equity.
Bridges added that the increase in Athens County’s Asian population is a direct reflection of OU’s enrollment trends.
“OU has seen a 5,000 percent increase in the last five years in just its Chinese student population,” Bridges said. “There is a direct correlation between the census numbers and OU’s enrollment.”
He added that the increase in minorities, even in rural areas such as Athens, reflects national trends.
“I think there are some people who believe Athens is isolated and out of the way, but Athens won’t be immune to the diversification of the country,” Bridges said.
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