Although Latino enrollment in higher education has increased as the US Latino population has grown (Latinos now outnumber African Americans), more often than not Latinos begin their college education in community colleges or less selective four-year institutions--institutional types with lower persistence and completion rates in general. Moreover,…

Argues that preferential treatment of women and minorities in the selection of college faculty elevates a form of corruption to standard administrative practice by including people in academic life on the basis of characteristics irrelevant to teaching and research; and previous unjust treatment is inadequate justification for preferential…

Recommended procedures for increasing the number of minority persons and women on college and university faculties are presented. Affirmative action plans are seen as essential to ensure that equal opportunity is realized and to remove vestiges of past discrimination. Suggestions for affirmative action plans are provided. (MLW)

The report of the American Association of University Professors' ad hoc Commission on Governance and Affirmative Action concerning the University of California's decision to end affirmative action in admissions, hiring, and awarding of contracts is presented. It outlines the events leading to the policy action, considers the educational impacts,…

By allocating some attention and rewards to group performance, colleges could make their reward systems more congruent and less hypocritical, send a clear message about institutional values and desired behavior, and link institutional strategies to departmental actions. (MSE)

The typical affirmative-action-mandated procedure for filling new tenure-track openings in humanities departments, together with the typical organization of service-course programs, puts women faculty members at a disadvantage. It often draws new faculty from outside the institution, generally passing over women already within the institution.…

Two sides of debate on racial norming of aptitude tests are argued: that aptitude tests cannot be neutral to experience because aptitude itself is not neutral to experience, thus fairness to everyone is not possible in a single test; and that, predictively, ability tests are essentially color-blind and racial norming satisfies affirmative action…

Two kinds of affirmative action in the recruitment and selection of college faculty are distinguished and discussed: procedural (ensuring judgment of applicants without consideration of race, religion, or national origin) and preferential (characterized by attention to the same criteria that procedural affirmative action eschews). Argues that…

Affirmative action in college faculty recruitment and selection is discussed, distinguishing between procedural and preferential affirmative action. Negative effects of preferential affirmative action on students, faculty, and the institution are examined. Other issues explored include democratic values, bias in the search process, and the…

Argues that if higher education is to get rid of affirmative action, it should first discontinue special admission of less qualified candidates who are admitted because they are athletes, alumni children, or the children of friends of administrators. Reports on a survey of 52 black college students concerning effects of affirmative action. (MSE)

California's Proposition 209, dismantling affirmative-action policy, has chilled race relations in the state, provided a road map for groups with similar agendas in other states, and challenged higher education to find alternative paths to justice for women and people of color. Recent experience has shown that more selective institutions have…

Emphasizing the value of difference may protect affirmative action while reinforcing inequalities. While education shows great concern for multiple perspectives, it uses diversity to preserve affirmative action. Though research indicates diversity has educational value, its use of prevailing academic practices reinforces the status quo. The main…

Investigated how the job market treats potential faculty members, particularly minorities. Results debunked many prevailing myths about diversifying the faculty (e.g., the scarcity of minority faculty means that institutions must compete to hire them). Strategies and issues for consideration when institutions are exploring diversity are discussed,…

Research shows that though college students tend to support diversity, a large percentage are opposed to giving preferences to minorities in the admissions process. Some of the research on the subject is incomplete or misleading. Other studies show that though campuses worry about the stigmatization of students given preferential admission,…

If colleges and universities want to avoid a relapse into increased racial segregation in light of current political and legal pressures against affirmative action, they must make the case for the need for racial diversity to further their core educational purposes. They must also enlist faculty help in identifying and articulating its educational…