Panel discussion on race-conscious admissions programs in view of the Fisher v. University of Texas Supreme Court case

The University of Maryland community is invited to a panel discussion.

TOPIC:   Race-conscious admissions programs in view of the Fisher v. University of Texas

Supreme Court case

DATE:  Wednesday, October 24, 2012

TIME:  6:30 p.m. to 8:00 p.m.

LOCATION:  Atrium, Van Munching Hall

 Format

Welcome, Introduction of Program & thanks to Sponsors

Dean Donald Kettl, School of Public Policy

Welcome to the event from American Constitution Society (ACS)

            Steve Ruckman, Esq., ACS Boardmember

Welcome & Introduction of Moderator

Dean Lucy Dalglish, Merrill College of Journalism

Introduce panelists and explain format

Dr. Mark Feldstein

Give background on legal cases concerning race-based admissions programs;

Bakke, Grutter, Gratz, Podberesky (aka Banneker case), Fisher

Carolyn Skolnik, Esq., University Counsel, Office of Legal Affairs

Panel Discussion led by Moderator

Q&A

Sponsors

Office of Legal Affairs

School of Public Policy

Merrill College of Journalism

Office of Diversity & Inclusion

American Constitution Society, Maryland Chapter
Background Information

1. NAACP Summary on Fisher: On August 13, 2012 the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund, Inc. (“LDF”) filed an amicus curiae (“friend of the court”) brief in Fisher v. University of Texas at Austin, urging the U.S. Supreme Court to preserve diversity and opportunity in America’s colleges and universities.
Fisher v. UT Austin is the first federal litigation challenging the use of race in university admissions since the Supreme Court’s 2003 decision in Grutter v. Bollinger which upheld an admissions policy at the University of Michigan Law School and broadly affirmed the educational importance of diversity.
UT’s consideration of race in admissions is exceedingly modest, even more so than the law school admissions policy at issue in Grutter.  But the impact of the race-conscious component of the policy is meaningful.  After UT added consideration of race into its individualized admissions policy beginning in 2005, African-Americans enrollment grew by over 21 percent.

2. CAC's Brief in Fisher v. Univ. of Texas: A History of Race-Conscious Measures and the U.S. Constitution, David H. Gans, August 14, 2012

On Monday, Constitutional Accountability Center filed an amici curiae brief in the Supreme Court in Fisher v. University of Texas, urging the Court to reaffirm that the Fourteenth Amendment permits the sensitive use of race to foster equality in education and to uphold the University of Texas’ use of race as one factor in its holistic admissions policy. Our brief, filed on behalf of CAC and six of the nation’s most prominent constitutional scholars – Bruce Ackerman, Vikram Amar, Jack Balkin, Burt Neuborne, James Ryan, and Adam Winkler – demonstrates that the text and history of the Fourteenth Amendment permit government to take race into account in certain circumstances in order to ensure equality of opportunity for all persons regardless of race.

3. NYTimes Op-Ed piece

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/10/05/opinion/moving-beyond-affirmative-action.html?nl=todaysheadlines&emc=edit_th_20121005&_r=0

By Thomas J. Espenshade, a professor of sociology at Princeton, is a co-author of “No Longer Separate, Not Yet Equal: Race and Class in Elite College Admission and Campus Life.”

4. A report from the Century Foundation proposes an alternative to race-based admissions.

http://www.insidehighered.com/news/2012/10/03/century-foundation-report-advocates-class-based-affirmative-action#.UGxgZsvp_sI.email