Affirmative Action and Academic Freedom: Why the Supreme Court Should Continue Deferring to Faculty Judgments about the Value of Educational Diversity
Indiana Journal of Law and Social Equality, Vol 1, p. 50 (2013)
11 Pages Posted: 13 Sep 2012 Last revised: 5 Apr 2018
Date Written: September 12, 2012
Abstract
This term in Fisher v. University of Texas, the Supreme Court will revisit Grutter v. Bollinger as it decides the constitutionality of a race-conscious admissions program at UT’s flagship campus in Austin. Many commentators have speculated that Grutter itself may be overruled. In a forthcoming essay in the new Indiana Journal of Law and Social Equality, I argue that overturning Grutter would have alarming legal consequences for public higher education. In doing so, the Court would be repudiating a long and important line of jurisprudence respecting the freedom of universities — acting upon the good faith educational judgments of their faculties — to determine for themselves how best to carry out their academic missions.
Keywords: Grutter v. Bollinger, academic freedom, affirmative action
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