one of the administrators told me today that dr. kendy really wishes he were already here so that he could help this campus move making progress in diversity, increasing the number of minority undergrads from 31% of the student body to 33 this coming fall. the dean is proud of steps forward after the hate crime last week and the protests that followed. >> the events of the recent weeks have been incredibly difficult for everyone on this campus. >> reporter: this is the man au says can tackle difficult issues of race on campus. the university announced they hired university of florida professor, dr. ib ram kendy to lead au's brand-new anti-racist research and policy center this fall. >> so we've had racial progress. >> so he is one of the definitive experts about campus activism during the '60s and early '70s around black issues. >> i think the point of establishing it as an institution is that the work that they'll be doing is long-term. >> black lives matter! >> reporter: last week, student protesters want au to hirre minorities to teach

. >> reporter: dean peters said dr. kendy and the center will reach beyond au to bring about policy change on the local, state, and federal levels. >> what we're hoping to have students, faculty, staff, work together with dr. kendy to begin to cast positive, forward-thinking solutions to problems that are centuries old. >> reporter: junior autumn grant says she's been the target of racism at au. she welcomes the new center. >> i think having this announcement come out at the time it did, shows there's long-term work that's going on on the campus to better the university as a whole. >> reporter: junior applauds the center too, but says the focus is in the wrong place. >> better training for police. putting us in a better position to succeed. but instead, you're educating the rest of the school. at american university, kristin wright, >>> it's a popular diet, but new research shows if you go gluten-free, it comes with some risks. still ahead, why some doctors say it may raise your risk of obesity. >> and only on news4 this even

the university hired dr. kendy to lead the research and policy center. he will come this fall.e is considered an expert on campus activism surrounding black issues. >>> president trump was going to fire fbi director james comey regardless of recommendations from his top two men at the justice department. that revelation tonight in an nbc news exclusive interview. the president telling lester holt the firing had nothing to do with the russia investigation and comey's poor performance. >> were you angry with james comey when he went public and said he can't support your charges of wire tapping that your predecessor? >> i was surprised he said it but i wasn't angry. i don't think of it as loyalty. i want whoever the director is to do the right thing. i want a great fbi director. >> and would you expect that they would continue on with this investigation? >> i expect that. >> tonight virginia senator tim cane responded to the president's comments. ink he thinks the president was concerned about comey briefing senators. >> he is deeply afraid of this issue. we're all going to say to

. >> what we're students, faculty, staff, work together with dr. kendy to begin to craft positive, forward-thinking solutions to problems that are centuries old. >> reporter: so what do students think about the plan? we'll tell you later on news4. kristin wright, news4. >>> there's been an alarming spike in the number of women with hepatitis c. and the reason may not be what you think. >>> a wash-out to end the week. more team coverage from storm team4 as we get ready for more rain. >>> and a manager's journey. melissa shares her emotional story of infertility in hopes it helps others. >> oh, it will be easy, like a lot of people to have another baby, and continuing to track showers on storm team4 radar. folks coming home from work, they might be a little bit later getting in the door. we'll continue to track showers for the next few hours. it's a tough call in the nats' game will be get under way or be postponed tonight. if we hear we'll let you know. 55 degrees right now. still tracking scattered showers until 89:00 p./9:00 p.m. more rain as we head in