This study investigates the associations between statewide affirmative action bans and the racial composition of undergraduate students at public 4-year colleges and universities in five states, that is, Arizona, Michigan, Nebraska, New Hampshire, and Oklahoma. I use the Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System data from 1999 to 2017, and…

Guided by a bottom-up policy implementation framework, this study draws from semi-structured interviews of 14 campus-level administrators charged with implementing diversity policy at the University of Michigan to investigate how an affirmative action ban (Proposal 2) influenced their efforts in support of racial/ethnic diversity at the…

This study examines the impact of affirmative action bans in six states (California, Washington, Florida, Texas, Michigan, and Nebraska) on the matriculation rates of historically underrepresented students of color in public medical schools in these states. Findings show that affirmative action bans have led to about a 17% decline (from 18.5% to…

What explains the rise of race-conscious affirmative action policies in undergraduate admissions? The dominant theory posits that adoption of such policies was precipitated by urban and campus unrest in the North during the late 1960s. Based on primary research in a sample of 17 selective schools, we find limited support for the dominant theory.…

One of the continuing areas of controversy surrounding higher education is affirmative action. The Supreme Court has agreed to hear "Fisher v. Texas," and their ruling may well influence universities' diversity initiatives, especially if they overturn "Grutter v. Bollinger" and rule that diversity is no longer a…

In this article, Michele Moses and Lauren Saenz explore a growing trend in education policymaking--the ballot initiative. Specifically, the authors question whether information presented to voters is sufficiently substantive to permit educated decisionmaking about influential policies. Their study, a content analysis of print news media related to…