The purpose of this paper is to document the indirect effects of the Texas Top Ten Percent Plan on professional school degrees awarded and to propose the far reach of the law as an alternative argument in support of race-conscious admissions policies challenged under the strict scrutiny standard. Designed around the two tests of strict scrutiny,…

This article uses philosophical analysis to clarify the arguments and claims about racial discrimination brought forward in the recent legal challenges to affirmative action in higher education admissions. Affirmative action opponents have argued that elite institutions of higher education are using negative action against Asian American…

Colleges increasingly emphasize the importance of socioeconomic diversity, but little work examines the link between such diversity and outcomes important to the campus climate. Using a national dataset, we test the link between two measures of socioeconomic diversity and cross-racial interaction, an outcome paramount to triggering the benefits of…

We use the Critical Race Theory frameworks of interest convergence and divergence to critique the anti-affirmative action movement's co-option of Asian Americans. Past discussions of affirmative action and Asian Americans mainly concentrate on how Asian Americans are affected by affirmative action, whether positively or negatively. We demonstrate…

Many public research universities fail to enroll a critical mass of low-income and underrepresented minority (URM) students. Though founded with a commitment to access, public research universities face pressure to increase tuition revenue and to recruit high-achieving students. These pressures create an incentive to recruit nonresident students,…

At the heart of the longstanding debate of addressing racial inequities in higher education is an argument about whether race should be a factor in admissions decisions. One argument is that institutions should be held accountable for diversity through external policies like affirmative action. Alternatively, there is the position that…

This study examines the impact of affirmative action bans in six states (California, Washington, Florida, Texas, Michigan, and Nebraska) on the matriculation rates of historically underrepresented students of color in public medical schools in these states. Findings show that affirmative action bans have led to about a 17% decline (from 18.5% to…

Authors examine the proportion of undergraduate applications, admissions, and enrollments preceding, during, and after Proposition 209 while accounting for the relative growth in University of California eligibility for underrepresented minorities (URMs). They employed standard deviation analyses to measure dispersion of the URMs to non-URMs.…

In today's increasingly diverse society, the legitimacy and strength of the democratic form of government depends on equitable access to graduate and professional education for individuals from all races and ethnicities. Yet, despite recent increases in enrollment, students of color remain severely underrepresented in graduate and professional…

Higher education has been characterized as "one of the greatest hopes for intellectual and civic progress in this country. Yet for many Americans, however, it has been seen as part of the problem rather than the solution" (Boyer, 1997, p. 85). Some have acknowledged that higher education is a public good through which individual participation…

As described in the 2003 Supreme Court decision on "Grutter v. Bollinger," the newly embraced conceptualization of diversity as "diversity within all disciplines" requires a renewed effort on the part of educators to determine whether universities are fulfilling their missions of achieving faculty diversity. A related and equally important…

Hiring procedures and costs were investigated as they relate to the filling of academic administrative positions advertised nationally since the 1972 affirmative action legislation. Substantial cost increases have resulted in little change in the sex and ethnic makeup of academic administrators. (Author/MLW)

Examined the impact of personal belief systems and the college experience on Asian Pacific American undergraduate college students' views of affirmative action in higher education. Survey results indicated that Asian Pacific American students' social interactions and perceptions, as well as their dominant ideology beliefs and racial/ethnic…

Case studies were conducted at three universities that significantly changed the status of women faculty during the 1970s. The most frequently cited factors for this success include leadership of top administrators, pressure from women faculty, and other environmental/structural changes supporting affirmative action. (Author/MLW)

Discusses a study that analyzed responses to fictitious position-wanted ads of female and minority candidates for administrative positions. (JT)