UCI Professor Admits Error in NEA Study : Grants: But he says corrected figures don’t change his basic conclusion that there is an inequitable distribution of money.

IRVINE — UC Irvine professor Sam Gilmore acknowledged Wednesday that he made a statistical error in his recent study of National Endowment for the Arts grants to minorities but said the corrected figures do not change the essential results of his analysis.

Initially, Gilmore asserted that, according to data from the NEA and U.S. Census Bureau, minorities represented 28.7% of the U.S. population in 1990 but received only 22% of NEA funds. He concluded that minorities were not getting an equitable share of the money.

Eva Jacob, an NEA policy and planning official, said Tuesday, however, that 28.7% was an inflated figure that Gilmore arrived at by counting as Hispanic both those who identified themselves as Hispanics and those who checked off “other.”

The correct figure, Gilmore said Wednesday, should be 24.8%, which he said does not change his fundamental conclusion, since it still reflects inequitable distribution of grant dollars.

To reach equity--or bring grant dollars in line with minority population--NEA dollars to minorities would still have to increase by 42%, Gilmore said Wednesday.

Gilmore reiterated that he does not advocate a quota system for the NEA and believes the endowment has made “great strides” in reaching out to minorities. His study was meant as a benchmark, he said.

“They still have room for improvement,” he said. “I’m a big supporter of the NEA but would also like to make sure they continue” in a positive direction.