This paper explores affirmative action as a social movement with two goals in mind: (a) to challenge dominant notions of higher education reform, while advancing a social movement perspective; and (b) to advance understanding of the role of collective action in supporting affirmative action in college admissions. The authors highlight ways in…

In this chapter, the authors outline critical race theory (CRT) as an analytical framework that originated in schools of law to examine and challenge the continuing significance of race and racism in U.S. society. They then describe the CRT framework within the field of education. CRT scholarship offers an explanatory structure that accounts for…

Affirmative action policies have played a critical role in promoting equal opportunity for both Latino faculty and Latino students in higher education. Affirmative action, one of the social programs that evolved from the civil rights movement, was aimed at increasing opportunities employment and education for historically underrepresented groups…

Despite its relatively short history, policies connected with Affirmative Action have endured a controversial social, political, and legal past. Higher education has witnessed much of this controversy firsthand. Because the venue of many Affirmative Action battles has been waged within educational settings, faculty in higher education are uniquely…

This report is an effort to assess what has been accomplished in successfully diversifying and desegregating historically segregated and unequal higher educational institutions across Kentucky, and how this was done. The report discusses the changing legal setting for these initiatives, analyzes the educational achievements and challenges, and…

Introducing the "Champions of Diversity" in the Academic Kickoff issue proved a timely reminder of the mission of Diverse during the lead up to the 25th anniversary of Cox, Matthews and Associates, the founder of the former Black Issues in Higher Education and publisher of Diverse. In this edition, the editors at Diverse unveil its second slate of…

Diversity is said to bring about a host of educational benefits, yet on campus or off, things aren't working out the way diversity experts planned. In this article, the author reviews recent research challenging the "contact hypothesis," which asserts that putting individuals of disparate cultural backgrounds in the classroom and other…

Affirmative action in college admissions is based on the premise that a diverse student body contributes to interactions among students from different backgrounds, which are in turn positively related to desirable outcomes of college. This study evaluates the merits of this rationale for affirmative action by examining the direct and indirect…

The higher education diversity programs that Texas enacted after "Hopwood v. University of Texas" banned affirmative action had unexpected positive consequences for the state's high schools. The Texas top 10% law, the Longhorn Opportunity Scholarship and Century Scholarship programs, and the Towards Excellence, Access and Success Grant…

Since 1995, efforts to prohibit affirmative action have intensified, perhaps most strikingly in higher education. In 1996, California voters adopted Proposition 209 (Prop. 209), an amendment to the state constitution that banned both discrimination and affirmative action programs that give preferences to groups or individuals based on their race,…

This book, in response to recent attacks on principles of affirmative action for minorities, suggests that need-based affirmative action cannot substitute for programs based on race and gender. It proposes a theory of affirmative action based on the contention that affirmative action has three morally defensible goals: (1) correction of systematic…

Comments on the problems of achieving a larger number of women and minority persons in the sciences and engineering. Suggests that the emphasis be placed on early identification of talented students and on the development of secondary, college, and graduate programs to prepare these students for entrance into the job market. (MLH)

Asserts that Contractors Association of Eastern Pennsylvania v. Secretary of Labor is the only case in which the constitutionality of affirmative action through contract compliance has been examined, points out a growing belief in affirmative action's "significant impact," and questions the legality of Executive Order 11246, which…

Three U.S. Supreme Court rulings on minority preference cases are analyzed with reference to the question of the constitutionality of minority preferential admissions. It is concluded that the Court's unpredictability casts doubt on the validity of minority preference and that special consideration should be given in a racially neutral manner. (JT)

An analysis of the background of the recent HEW memo to 2,800 colleges warning them not to practice reverse discrimination while trying to improve opportunities for minorities and women. (Author/MLF)