Image: James Fryer for The Chronicle
Ever since the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision in the 1978 Bakke case — in which the court invalidated the racial quotas on admission at the medical school of the University of California at Davis — “diversity” has dominated American higher education’s thinking about affirmative action.
Ironically, the opinion that gave diversity that canonical status was supported by just one Justice, the late Lewis Powell, whose vote decided the case. While strict racial quotas were not permissible, universities had, in Justice Powell’s view, a compelling interest in the diversity of their student population, since that contributed to the educational experience an institution offered [more].
Source: Academic Ethics: Is ‘Diversity’ the Best Reason for Affirmative Action? | ChronicleVitae
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