Examines the historical role affirmative action programs have played in academic libraries and the shift from affirmative action to more broadly based diversity programs. The contribution a library staff may make to these programs is shown by examining the evolution and function of Iowa State University Library's Committee on Diversity. (13…

Affirmative action has become symbolic of the public policy debate about equity, race, ethnicity, and gender. Proponents of affirmative action need to address the issues of (1) demonstrable qualification for employment; (2) entitlement to fulfilled expectations; (3) interference of affirmative action with legitimate right to educational/employment…

Identifies barriers to minority student access and success in college, including lack of preparation, financial needs, and students' perceptions of the academic environment. Offers examples of programs designed to overcome these barriers through early intervention, creative recruitment, and a supportive institutional climate. Presents guidelines…

Describes a study that identified common characteristics of successful searches for library directors at large university libraries. Characteristics identified include relative openness with respect to the process, a clear understanding of affirmative action guidelines, a commitment to the library by academic officers, and interest from…

Describes affirmative action practices of federal agencies in hiring Hispanic Americans. College recruiting programs hire Hispanic college students during the summers, providing them with a good chance of being hired full-time following graduation. However, there is still a shortage of Hispanic staff members in the middle and upper ranks of…

California's Proposition 209, dismantling affirmative-action policy, has chilled race relations in the state, provided a road map for groups with similar agendas in other states, and challenged higher education to find alternative paths to justice for women and people of color. Recent experience has shown that more selective institutions have…

The University of California's governing board has agreed to accept the top 4% of graduates from each high school in the state, the most significant expansion of the system's entrance criteria in two decades. The new policy will yield about 3,600 additional eligible students and improve racial/ethnic diversity, which is welcome after a ban on…

W. Bowen and D. Bok analyze new data from the Mellon Foundation on the question of racial preferences in college admissions. Bowen and Bok assert that the institutions should decide admissions policy, that the autonomy of the college is one of the virtues of U.S. higher education. (SLD)

Draws attention to some of the unexamined assumptions on which W. Bowen and D. Bok base their analysis and considers some of the unintended, and often undesired, consequences of racial preferences in college admissions. (SLD)

With legal threats against them mounting, trustees of public and private colleges alike are hearing mixed and vague messages about how much they personally have at stake in lawsuits aimed at their institutions' affirmative-action policies. Few cases in either federal or states courts provide guidance on trustees' potential individual liability.…

Describes the benefits of racially diverse student bodies at law schools. A diverse legal profession enhances the appearance of justice and increases public confidence that the system is unbiased and accessible to all. Citizens cannot respect a system of justice that appears to perpetuate prejudice and exclude certain people from its…

Describes four eras in Mexican-American education: (1) schooling in the Southwest, 1848-1890; (2) expansion of Mexican-American education, 1890-1930; (3) changing nature of public education, 1930-1960; and (4) the contemporary period. Explores such themes as exclusion, segregated and inferior schooling, and nativism. (SK)

Describes use of faculty focus groups to develop strategies to increase the representation of women in senior levels of the medical faculty at Monash University (Australia). The approach resulted in "faculty ownership" of affirmative action and an implementation plan that has high priority and incorporates various stakeholder groups.…

Reviews the commitment of the National Science Foundation (NSF) to employing minority women scientists and engineers and the progress made in the decades since the equal opportunity plan was established in 1969. (WRM)

Discusses a study conducted by W. G. Bowen and D. Bok that develops hard empirical evidence about the benefits of using race-sensitive admissions to selective higher education. The database on which this study rests includes more than 80,000 undergraduates from 28 selective institutions. (SLD)