After a decade of steady improvements, graduation rates among African American college students dropped in each of the past 2 years. Discusses the success of black women versus black men, differences in black student graduation rates, differences in black and white graduation rates, graduation rates at black colleges and universities (HBCUs), and…

Critiques the theory advanced by A. Thernstrom and S. Thernstrom that affirmative action is responsible for the high college dropout rates of African Americans because underqualified applicants are admitted. The argument centers on examination of dropout rates at historically black colleges and institutions, where racial preference is not a…

As a business, educating African Americans is a large enterprise, with total annual expenditures approaching $15 billion. Contrary to stereotypes, it cannot be regarded as a footnote to American higher education. Tuition expenditures account for nearly 8% of the total money income of blacks in the United States. (SLD)

Examines current support for the further racial integration of U.S. black colleges, focusing on whether black colleges may be permitted to adopt race-sensitive recruiting and admissions policies specifically calculated to identify, attract, and enroll white students. Highlights the danger of framing a general prohibition that will deny black…

Addresses the African American presence in higher education and educational outcomes. Articles cover such topics as the racial composition in universities and colleges and faculty, race relations, enrollment and graduation rates, income differentials, political influences on black education, athletic scholarships, information specifically on black…

Race-sensitive admission policies prevail at most private colleges. Questions why more lawsuits have not challenged such policies, discussing difficulties in mounting lawsuits; legal differences between suing public and private institutions; the court's passion for private decision making; racial gaps in test scores at private institutions;…

Examines the historical record of blacks receiving honorary degrees through the following stages: total exclusion; institutional tokenism; and genuine recognition of merit and achievement. Honorary degrees awarded between 1952 and 1994 by Harvard, Yale, and Princeton universities are listed. (GR)

Provides 35 articles that address such topics as black enrollment in higher education, declining black Scholastic Aptitude Test scores, abolishing race-based admissions in California, and the quality of doctoral programs at black universities. Several articles address educational financial support, the black experience at Ivy League colleges and…

Suggests that banning all racially sensitive programs and practices in higher education is unacceptable, presenting a history of black admission to higher education and examining: minority student recruiting; athletic departments; race sensitive programs sponsored by foundations; reducing black student dropout rates; race sensitive faculty…

Most high-ranking U.S. colleges and universities have firm programs in place to recruit black students to their campuses. However, very few leading universities are taking measures to increase racial diversity in their professional ranks. Presents data from a survey of the nation's 27 highest-ranked colleges regarding institutions with announced…

This article suggests that previous bans on race-based affirmative action have done serious damage to black enrollments at the U.S.'s "flagship" public universities. In some cases, black enrollments have rebounded somewhat, but enrollments are still far below the level that prevailed prior to the bans. Only Texas, with its 10 Percent…

States that about 2,000 out of 2,100 colleges and universities are predominately white and that less than 0.1% of these are headed by black presidents. The author presents a list of 17 black presidents at white 4-year colleges and universities. (GR)

Offers evidence that, although blacks were making limited progress in higher education before and immediately after the civil-rights legislation of the 1960s, significant progress did not occur until the late 1960s and later after strong affirmative-action admissions programs were in place. (SLD)

Describes the work of the Center for Individual Rights (CIR), a "public interest" law firm that has been highly successful in stamping out the use of affirmative action in the admissions process of some major universities. Summarizes CIR tactics to eliminate affirmative action. (SLD)

Reviews the extent to which African Americans have entered the faculties of the major universities in the United States. The average percentage of Black professors nationwide is twice or more the percentage of Black professors at the most prestigious institutions of higher education. Racial customs of the past are the most powerful barrier to…