RESEARCH General Arts

AFFIRMATIVE ACTION
Michigan cases put diversity issue center stage

Craig Chamberlain, News Editor
(217) 333-2894; cdchambe@uiuc.edu

3/1/03

Photo by Bill Wiegand Denise Green, a professor of higher education, has researched and written about Michigan’s response to the cases since they were first filed in 1997. It was the topic of her dissertation as a doctoral student there..

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. — Oral arguments are to be made next month in two University of Michigan affirmative action cases now in the U.S. Supreme Court. No matter what the eventual outcome, Michigan succeeded in shifting the debate on the issue, says Denise Green, a professor at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. It also may have set a new standard for how universities respond to similar cases or other significant public challenges.

Green, a professor of higher education, has researched and written about Michigan’s response to the cases since they were first filed in 1997. It was the topic of her dissertation as a doctoral student there.

Before the cases were filed, Green noted, "we were talking about social justice or we were talking about racial preferences, these two polar ends" of the public affirmative action debate. The concept of diversity – that students derive important educational benefits from learning within a diverse campus environment – got little attention.

Affirmative action opponents didn’t feel they had to talk about diversity, and college administrators who believed in its benefits had little research to support it, Green said. "There was not a body of research that clearly showed that there was a connection between racial diversity on the college campus and educational outcomes," she said.
As part of Michigan’s effort to address the litigation, it supported research on the question of diversity’s value and narrowly tailored its argument around the concept.

As a result, the opponents "have to talk about diversity now," and have conceded "to some extent" on its benefits, Green said. Even President Bush, in stating his opposition to Michigan’s admissions policies, said he supported the need for diversity on campus, she noted. The question remains on how diversity is defined and whether race-conscious policies are justified in achieving it.

Unlike other institutions faced with similar cases, Green observed that Michigan did not just play defense, but rather chose to devote significant resources to its case and to actively communicate with the media and the public. "They felt their argument was just, it was rational, it was based in educational philosophy and theory, it was based in their mission," she said.

"Michigan decided to pull out all the stops," and approached the situation comprehensively, Green said. The university asked some of its best researchers to look at the problem, hired quality lawyers to develop its case and devoted staff support to the effort.

Michigan also developed a clear message, focused around diversity, to match the clear message put forward by its opponents. And, unlike some other schools that floundered in their efforts, Michigan shared that message "often and persistently" with the news media, Green said. "Michigan has shifted the debate, and successfully conveyed to higher education, government, and corporate leaders that racial diversity is good, necessary and important for higher education and society."