Examines the progress of black participation in the Rhodes Scholarship program. The author discusses the earlier practice of exclusion blacks in the program and highlights the experiences of two black Rhodes scholars in the selection process. (GLR)

Explores what would happen to black law school admissions if affirmative-action admissions decisions are banned. The threat to affirmative action is only half of the problem of integrating African Americans into the major law firms, which are so overwhelmingly white that many blacks prefer not to join them. (SLD)

More than any other Supreme Court Justice, William Brennan worked to level the playing field for black Americans. As the recognized architect of affirmative action strategies for higher education, he left an indelible imprint on equal education in America. (SLD)

Provides responses from a small group of conservative scholars concerning the compromise proposed by Dr. James Q. Wilson indicating that the nation will allow some affirmative action in the form of race-based preferential admissions at the undergraduate level, but not in graduate programs. (GR)

Blacks on average continue to score about 200 points below whites on the Scholastic Assessment Tests, but the racial scoring gap is much lower in some states than others. In some states, however, notably California, the gap is widening, giving rise to concerns for college admissions for African Americans. (SLD)

Assesses the possible impact on academia of the Hopwood decision in which the U.S. Court of Appeals ordered the University of Texas to stop considering race as a factor in making its admission decisions. The author explains how race-blind admissions threaten private universities' ability to pursue affirmative action policies as allowed pursuant to…

Presents the results of a survey of the admissions offices at the 25 highest-ranked national universities and the 25 highest-ranked liberal arts colleges concerning the number of African American applicants, their acceptance rates, enrollment numbers, and yield rates. (EMS)

The 42 brief reports in this section deal with a variety of issues related to the status of blacks in higher education, both as students and as faculty members. Highlights the academic achievement of African Americans, profiles of notable figures in black education, and current political issues related to higher education for black students. (SLD)

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…

Discusses the efforts to integrate Harvard Medical School and the school's own struggle with the question of admitting black students. The author examines the school's problems with integration during the Civil Rights Era and its eventual commitment to racial integration at the prodding of Dean Robert Ebert in the late 1960s. Black progress in the…

Shows what is likely to happen to black admissions, particularly at highly ranked undergraduate colleges, law schools, and medical schools, if admissions decisions at these institutions are largely based on the scores of standardized tests. The performance gap between blacks and whites on such tests has actually grown since 1988. (SLD)

Examines black student enrollment progress, past racial policies, and the status of black enrollments in 1980 and progress since 1980 in large state universities. Statistical trends in black student enrollments at selected large state universities and the level of racial integration at selected flagship state universities are provided. Black…

Presents statistics that document the status of African Americans in higher education. Much recent progress in the Education Equality Index the journal computes comes from gains made in the past several years that are only now reported by the government. Recent political and social developments, such as opposition to affirmative action, may…

Surveys highly regarded law schools to see how they stand regrading black enrollment, faculty diversity, and progress toward integration. Most of the 19 responding schools have increased their black enrollment, but blacks remain underrepresented in law schools, as they do in the profession. (SLD)

Presents a collection of articles on the black experience in postsecondary education, including issues regarding black achievement, black faculty, enrollment, politics and racism, black status in Ivy League schools, and affirmative action. The black experience at several specific colleges, including Wharton, UCLA, Kean College, Howard College, and…