This report focuses on minority students, particularly African Americans, in higher education. It examines school desegregation and its effect on African Americans, the success rate of minorities in comparison to the majority population, retention issues relative to minorities, recruitment and retention programs, and the importance of multicultural and culturally pluralistic academic environments. Data are presented which reveal that minority students, especially African American students, enter college with educational deficits resulting from earlier years of schooling. It is also revealed that: (1) minorities' grades and test scores were lower, and their occupational goals were more limited than of Whites; (2) while in college, minorities experienced higher rates of attrition, lower enrollment at prestigious institutions, and underrepresentation in the science, engineering, and professional fields; and (3) minorities reported greater emotional and social stress, and less satisfaction with college in general than their White contemporaries. It is recommended that institutions of higher learning address these situations that hamper the educational achievement of African Americans and other non-Whites and develop financial aid programs, expand special programs designed to address the needs of African Americans, and involve faculty in the recruitment and retention of minority students. (BHK)