Harvard may have a reputation as a first-rate institution, but its efforts in the area of ethnic studies are strikingly deficient said George J. Sanchez '81in a speech given yesterday afternoon in the Lowell House small dining room.

"Harvard prides itself on being an academic leader, but it's not even on the map in this area" said Sanchez, who is the director of the University of Southern California Program in American Studies and Ethnicity.

Following up a Wednesday night forum on the future of ethnic studies at Harvard, the Harvard Foundation sponsored Sanchez's speech in an effort to raise awareness about Harvard's lack of an ethnic studies program.

According to Sanchez, all demographic projections indicate that in 30 to 40 years, the majority of the U.S. population will be made up of people of color, a future he says the Harvard educational system is not addressing.

"For example, there are no Asian-American or Latino-American history courses," he said. "That's a third of the population right there."

He cited Harvard's rapid progress in the field of Afro-American studies as indicative of the school's potential to create reputable new programs in a short amount of time.

And considering the current demographic shift toward increased diversity, Sanchez said there are several practical reasons to study ethnicity.

"If you haven't spent time studying what these groups are and what their history is, in the future you could end up a 40-year-old CEO wondering who the hell are all these people I'm trying to sell stuff to," he said.