For people concerned with the future of diversity in the United States, the month of June 2003 was a momentous watershed. Nearly four decades earlier, President Lyndon B. Johnson first advocated affirmative action as a means to "seek not just freedom, but opportunity." June 2003 also saw the 25th anniversary of the U.S. Supreme Court's…

The White Paper Success for All set out a vision to transform post compulsory education in the United Kingdom. A key theme was "Developing the leaders, teachers, trainers and support staff of the future," reflecting a belief that leadership is one of the key elements in achieving the national vision. Alongside this positive affirmation…

"National CrossTalk" is a publication of the National Center for Public Policy and Higher Education. The National Center promotes public policies that enhance opportunities for quality education and training beyond high school. The primary purpose of "National CrossTalk" is to stimulate informed discussion and debate of higher…

Although there is a great deal of disagreement about how to handle the changes that confront postsecondary education, few will suggest that being wedded to the status quo is sufficient. Many contend that the future of higher education is up for grabs; how those of us in the "industry" respond will determine whether American higher…

This article critically analyses administrative searches through the experiences and perspectives of candidates and search committee chairs at a predominantly white university. A model of filtering is advanced that describes how candidates are included and excluded and how the perspectives and consequences differ for black female, black male,…

The United States Supreme Judicial Court is currently deliberating the University of Michigan Affirmative Action lawsuits involving three white students who claim they were discriminated against because of race-conscious admissions policies. Organizations, such as the Center for Individual Rights, which sponsored the Michigan plaintiffs, and the…

In this paper we review the research evidence on the effects of affirmative action in employment, university admissions, and government procurement. We consider effects on both "equity" (or distribution) as well as "efficiency." Overall, we find that affirmative action does redistribute jobs, university admissions, and…

In 2001, Dr. Jordan Cohen, President of the AAMC, called for medical schools to consider using an Medical College Admission Test (MCAT) threshold to eliminate high-risk applicants from consideration and then to use non-academic qualifications for further consideration. This approach would seem to be consistent with the recent Supreme Court ruling…

On May 17, 1954, the Supreme Court rendered one of the most important legal decisions in American history. With its first opinion in the "Brown v. Board of Education," the Court ruled unanimously that racial segregation in public schools was unconstitutional. Writing for the Court, Chief Justice Earl Warren stated that racial segregation…

Affirmative action as a policy to solve past racism has existed since the civil rights movement in the mid-twentieth century. Since its inception there has been controversy as to whether affirmative action can stand legal scrutiny. If it can, then under what circumstances and for what programs may it be used? Since the "Bakke" case in…

Created through Woodrow Wilson's Responsive Ph.D. initiative, "Diversity and the Ph.D." looks at a range of mechanisms through which foundations, government agencies, and nonprofits have sought to recruit and retain more minority students in U.S. doctoral programs. Drawing on interviews with the leaders of 13 such programs, the report also points…

Increasing the participation of minority groups at public colleges and universities is a longstanding goal of the Board of Governors for Higher Education, as first outlined in its 1983 "Strategic Plan to Ensure Racial and Ethnic Diversity in Connecticut Public Higher Education." The minority groups defined by the plan are:…

Created through Woodrow Wilson's Responsive Ph.D. initiative, "Diversity and the Ph.D." looks at a range of mechanisms through which foundations, government agencies, and nonprofits have sought to recruit and retain more minority students in U.S. doctoral programs. Drawing on interviews with the leaders of 13 such programs, the report also points…

Students who fail to graduate high school prepared to attend a four-year college are much less likely to gain full access to our country's economic, political, and social opportunities. In this study, the authors estimate the percentage of students in the public high school class of 2001 who actually possess the minimum qualifications for applying…

"Multicultural Education Policies in Canada and the United States" uses a dialogical approach to examine responses to increasing cultural and racial diversity in both countries. It compares and contrasts foundational myths and highlights the sociopolitical contexts that affect the conditions of citizenship, access to education, and…