The Future of Affirmative Action: New Paths to Higher Education Diversity after Fisher v. University of Texas

by Richard D. Kahlenberg (Editor)

Overview

As the United States experiences dramatic demographic change—and as our society’s income inequality continues to rise—promoting racial, ethnic, and economic inclusion at selective colleges has become more important than ever. At the same time, however, many Americans—including several members of the U.S. Supreme Court—are uneasy with explicitly using race as a factor in college admissions. The Court’s decision in Fisher v. University of Texas emphasized that universities can use race in admissions only when “necessary,” and that universities bear “the ultimate burden of demonstrating, before turning to racial classifications, that available, workable race-neutral alternatives do not suffice.” With race-based admission programs increasingly curtailed, The Future of Affirmative Action explores race-neutral approaches as a method of promoting college diversity after Fisher decision. The volume suggests that Fisher might on the one hand be a further challenge to the use of racial criteria in admissions, but on the other presents a new opportunity to tackle, at long last, the burgeoning economic divisions in our system of higher education, and in society as a whole. Contributions from: Danielle Allen (Princeton); John Brittain (University of the District of Columbia) and Benjamin Landy (MSNBC.com); Nancy Cantor and Peter Englot (Rutgers–Newark); Anthony P. Carnevale , Stephen J. Rose, and Jeff Strohl (Georgetown University); Dalton Conley (New York University); Arthur L. Coleman and Teresa E. Taylor (EducationCounsel LLC); Matthew N. Gaertner (Pearson); Sara Goldrick-Rab (University of Wisconsin–Madison); Scott Greytak (Campinha Bacote LLC); Catharine Hill (Vassar); Richard D. Kahlenberg (The Century Foundation); Richard L. McCormick (Rutgers); Nancy G. McDuff (University of Georgia); Halley Potter (The Century Foundation); Alexandria Walton Radford (RTI International) and Jessica Howell (College Board); Richard Sander (UCLA School of Law); and Marta Tienda (Princeton).

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780870785429
Publisher:	The Century Foundation, Inc.
Publication date:	06/17/2014
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	300
File size:	3 MB

About the Author

Richard D. Kahlenberg is a senior fellow at The Century Foundation and is one of the nation’s chief proponents of class-based affirmative action in higher education. He is the author of five books, including The Remedy: Class, Race, and Affirmative Action (Basic Books, 1996) and is the editor of nine Century Foundation books, including Affirmative Action for the Rich: Legacy Preferences in College Admissions (2010); Rewarding Strivers: Helping Low-Income Students Succeed in College (2010); and America’s Untapped Resource: Low-Income Students in Higher Education (2004).

Table of Contents

Foreword Jamie P. Merisotis Holiday Hart McKienrnan Susan Johnson Janice Nittoli v

1 Introduction Richard D. Kohlenberg 1

Part I The Stakes: Why Racial Diversity Matters and Why Socioeconomic Diversity Matters

2 Defining the Stakes Why We Cannot Leave the Nation's Diverse Talent Pool Behind and Thrive Nancy Cantor Peter Englot 27

3 Promoting Economic Diversity for College Affordability Sara Goldrick-Rab 35

Part II The Legal Challenge: The Meaning of Fisher v. University of Texas

4 Emphasis Added Fisher v. University of Texas and Its Practical Implications for Institutions of Higher Education Arthur L. Coleman Teresa E. Taylor 43

5 New Rules for Affirmative Action in Higher Education A Practical Guide to Fisher v. University of Texas for Colleges and Universities Scott Greytak 57

Part III State Experiences with Race-Neutral Strategies

6 Transitioning to Race-Neutral Admissions An Overview of Experiences in States Where Affirmative Action Has Been Banned Halley Potter 75

7 Striving for Neutrality Lessons from Texas in the Aftermath of Hopwood and Fisher Marta Tienda 91

8 The Use of Socioeconomic Affirmative Action at the University of California Richard Sander 99

9 Converging Perils to College Access for Racial Minorities Examples of Responses that Work from Washington State and New Jersey Richard L. McCormick 110

10 Ensuring Diversity Under Race-Neutral Admissions at the University Of Georgia Nancy G. McDuff Halley Potter 122

Part IV Research on Promising Race-Neutral Strategies

11 Addressing Undermatch Creating Opportunity and Social Mobility Alexandria Walton Radford Jessica Howell 133

12 Talent is Everywhere Using ZIP Codes and Merit to Enhance Diversity Danielle Allen 145

13 Reducing Reliance on Testing to Promote Diversity John Brittain Benjamin Landy 160

14 Advancing College Access with Class-Based Affirmative Action The Colorado Case Matthew N. Gaertner 175

15 Achieving Racial and Economic Diversity with Race-Blind Admissions Policy Anthony P. Camevale Stephen J. Rose Jeff Strohl 187

16 The Why, What, and How of Class-Based Admissions Policy Dalton Conley 203

Part V Public Policy Proposals

17 A Collective Path Upward Working Smarter and Cooperatively to Improve Opportunity and Outcomes Richard Sander 215

18 Increasing Socioeconomic Diversity in American Higher Education Catharine Hill 226

Notes 235

Index 279

About the Contributors 295