To better understand the impact of the June 23 decisions on affirmative action by the U.S. Supreme Court, the Byron R. White Center for the Study of American Constitutional Law at the CU-Boulder School of Law will hold a panel presentation on July 1.
Titled "What Do the Michigan Affirmative Action Decisions Mean for Universities and Colleges? A Discussion by Constitutional Law Scholars," the presentation will be held from 3 p.m. to 4:30 p.m. in the Lindsley Memorial Courtroom of the Fleming Law Building. The event is free and open to the public.
The panel will feature CU law professors Emily Calhoun, Robert Nagel and Richard Collins. Nagel is the Rothgerber Professor of Constitutional Law and Collins is director of the Byron R. White Center.
The high court upheld the University of Michigan's use of race as one of several factors in the law school's admissions policy. In making the decision, Justice Sandra Day O'Connor wrote "the diffusion of knowledge and opportunity through public institutions of higher education must be accessible to all individuals regardless of race or ethnicity."
But the court also ruled that the university's use of a system that automatically awards undergraduate admission points to a prospective student based solely on race violates the 14th Amendment's equal-protection guarantee and ignores "the importance of considering each applicant as an individual."
"The decisions give universities an opportunity to look closely at what they are doing," said Calhoun. "In particular, the court was concerned about ensuring individualized determinations, and when an undergraduate program has tens of thousands of applicants, it might be interesting to look at the practical realities of providing such determinations."
But critics are claiming the battle over the use of race in college admissions is hardly over. In his dissenting opinion, Justice Antonin Scalia predicted the decision will foster more litigation.
"There is no hard and fast rule against using race, so each affirmative action program will need to be evaluated on a case by case basis, potentially by the courts," said Calhoun.
For more information on the panel, or to confirm attendance, contact Catherine Rafferty at (303) 492-8049 or Catherine.Rafferty@colorado.edu.