Legal Experts See Need for Published Data Showing Diversity Deficits in Higher Education

In summer 2003, U.S. Supreme Court rulings upheld a public university's policies to increase student body diversity in its law school but ruled against other diversity-related policies in its undergraduate admissions. The court's decisions involving the University of Michigan were welcomed as a victory for diversity, but nuances in the rulings created a legal minefield for institutions of higher education and some institutions changed or abandoned their diversity programs out of fear of lawsuits.

Legally defensible options exist, however, to promote diversity in classrooms. A legal expert told a AAAS audience some strategies in designing programs that are both legally defensible and effective in increasing diversity among students.

"It is very easy to focus on what cannot be done," said Jamie Lewis Keith, vice president and general counsel at the University of Florida. "However, if the nation needs higher education to make progress, it is essential for college and university legal counsels to have a sophisticated understanding of—and orientation toward—what can be done."

Lewis Keith gave an 8 May keynote talk at the AAAS-organized conference, "Understanding Interventions that Broaden Participation in Research Careers." To learn more, read the full story.