The Eighty-second Annual Meeting of the American Association of University Professors notes with grave concern several actual and impending decisions concerning campus affirmative action programs. The United States court of Appeals for the 5th circuit, in Hopwood v. State of Texas barred the law school at the University of Texas from using race as a factor in admitting students. The University of California Board of Regents prohibited the use of race and gender in admission, hiring, and the awarding of contracts. And in November, the people of the State of California will vote on a state constitutional amendment that would prohibit affirmative action programs that take into account race, sex, color, ethnicity, or national origin in public employment, education, or contracting. Other states are considering similar initiatives.
This Annual Meeting objects most vigorously to the Hopwood decision and to the action by the University of California Board of Regents, and we urge defeat of the California initiative and other similar proposals. We are acutely aware of the underrepresentation of women and minorities among faculties, students, and staff in our colleges and universities. We reaffirm the principles expressed in Association policies that affirmative action programs can remedy the effects of discrimination, promote needed and legitimate efforts to increase student diversity, and improve professional opportunities for women and minorities.