One of the founders of University Centers for Rational Alternatives and its present executives secretary and coordinator of the Committee on Academic Nondiscrimination and Integrity present alternative views to some of the comments regarding opposition to affirmative action made by Marilyn Gittell in "The Illusion of Affirmative Action,"…

If diversity is a goal of higher education, it is time to shift emphasis from the faculty search and hiring process to preparation of minority students for academic success. This requires (1) taking more direct responsibility for problems surrounding minority student achievement and (2) assessing whether affirmative action achieves desired…

Affirmative action as a form of regulatory policy may produce a productive cultural mosaic but cannot in itself achieve healthy diversity. A college wishing to diminish discrimination, create a safe and secure work and educational environment, and provide support for family life must institutionalize diversity programs to succeed. (MSE)

In this essay recounting a midcareer faculty review, Vilma Hernandez is the fictitious name of a faculty member originally hired for affirmative action reasons who fails because of her inability to solicit support and the university's failure to offer it. Concludes that the university allowed her to fail. (JMF)