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The AAUP Supports Affirmative Action
The AAUP is a longtime supporter of affirmative action programs in higher education, and AAUP staff and leaders have been especially hard at work on the issue in recent months. They have prepared legal briefs on the topic, developed affirmative action resources to disseminate to the media and the public, and fielded numerous calls from the press and the public.
Last December, the U.S. Supreme Court announced that it will hear two cases challenging affirmative action policies at the University of Michigan. Gratz v. Bollinger et al. deals with undergraduate admissions, and Grutter v. Bollinger et al. deals with law school admissions. In both cases, white students allege that the university discriminated against them by considering race as a "plus" factor in admissions. The Supreme Court's ruling is considered crucial to the continuation of many current affirmative action programs.
The AAUP joined other higher education organizations in filing friend-of-the-court briefs in support of the university, as it did at the trial and appellate levels. The briefs argue that if higher education is to remain accessible to all, careful admissions policies such as Michigan's must continue. The briefs focus especially on the well-documented educational benefits of racial diversity in higher education, and the Association's belief that decisions about how to educate, and whom to educate, should be left to educators.
"Given the social and economic pressures imposed upon higher education to privilege one class of students over another, the AAUP believes that by acknowledging race as one of many factors in admissions, the University of Michigan has devised a reasonable policy to achieve both fairness and diversity," comments Mary Burgan, the AAUP's general secretary.
The newly updated diversity and affirmative action section of the AAUP Web site includes an overview of legal developments; informational outlines; research on diversity; problems with so-called percentage plans, which some states are using as an alternative to race-conscious admissions; and links to AAUP policy statements and Academe articles about diversity and affirmative action.
The Association has also developed a diversity press packet for members of the media and for faculty education and recruiting. To receive a packet for use on your campus, please contact Robin Burns.
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