The topic of affirmative action has been a subject of intense debate, with both proponents and opponents offering compelling arguments. Justice Clarence Thomas, an associate justice of the U.S. Supreme Court, has consistently expressed strong reservations about affirmative-action policies, viewing them as a form of reverse discrimination that may…

In the competitive landscape of higher education, institutions grapple with the challenge of fostering racial diversity and a sense of belonging among students, particularly at Predominantly White Institutions (PWIs). This disquisition presents a comprehensive improvement initiative implemented at Western Carolina University (WCU) aimed at…

While there have been multiple instances of digital manipulation and mishandling of images of racially minoritized individuals by college and universities, most of the literature on higher education marketing is limited to the study of the images themselves. In this comparative case study, I consider both the racial representations found in the…

The purpose of this paper is to document the indirect effects of the Texas Top Ten Percent Plan on professional school degrees awarded and to propose the far reach of the law as an alternative argument in support of race-conscious admissions policies challenged under the strict scrutiny standard. Designed around the two tests of strict scrutiny,…

Many departments seek to improve their equity, diversity, and inclusion using data-informed methods; however, not much is known about how closely department leadership aligns their review practices with appropriate theory. This dissertation seeks to explore four areas: 1) how are equity, diversity, and inclusion are being conceptualized (implied…

Educational research, policy, advocacy organizations, and higher education policy scholars, have noted the significance of race-conscious admissions in the dismantling of the structural and material racial and class barriers that reflect the historical role of colleges and universities. In this essay, the author enacts a different reading of the…

In its 2023 decision in "Students for Fair Admissions v. Harvard," the Supreme Court effectively ended its approval of affirmative action in higher education admissions, holding that practices at Harvard and the University of North Carolina (UNC) were unlawful. The Court concluded that UNC's practices violated the guarantee of equal…

Affirmative action, a practice used since the 1960s to edge toward equity and address historical and ongoing injustice through higher education attainment, was struck down last month by the Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS). The immediate and longer term direct and indirect impacts of this ruling are vast and, in some cases, murky. In…

Strategy is planning about survival in a tough and competitive environment, and strategic enrollment management (SEM) is about higher education institutions exerting influence on student enrollment to generate tuition revenue. Although the global environment of the 21st century provides opportunities for improving enrollment from various parts of…

The effects of affirmative action on the incentives to human capital accumulation are ambiguous from a theoretical perspective and the scarce empirical evidence on the matter provides mixed results. In this paper, we address this issue by investigating the impacts of Brazil's Law of Quotas on the students' performance in the college entrance exam,…

Affirmative action is framed as a way to end discrimination and promote equality. However, it has led to unequal treatment of students on the basis of race, gender, economic status and national origin. This paper recommends steps that policymakers can take to protect education and academic merit. It also provides specific policy guidelines for…

Attacks on diversity, equity, and inclusion threaten to undo much of the work of creating and maintaining diverse learning and working environments for students, faculty, and staff. In honor of ACPA's 100th anniversary, we reflect on the current threats to the campus racial climate, highlight research that informs our scholarship and practice, and…

Drawing on the notions of neoliberal governmentality, regime of subjectification, as well as on the ordoliberal conception of social policy, self and class, I analyse how neoliberalism is entrenched in the formation of the affirmative action policy in higher education in Chile. Based on a fieldwork focused on the two main affirmative action…

In June, the U.S. Supreme Court brought to a close the country's decades-long experiment in affirmative action in a pair of closely watched cases--"Students for Fair Admissions v. President and Fellows of Harvard College" and "Students for Fair Admissions v. University of North Carolina"--and overturned the use of racial…

The under-representation of women in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) disciplines has been well documented. We discuss an affirmative action recruitment strategy from the University of Melbourne's STEM disciplines where only female applicants were eligible to apply for academic positions. This strategy has been very…