Affirmative Action and Admissions at a Jesuit Law School

Abstract:     
The United States Supreme Court's 2003 decisions regarding affirmative action in higher education have prompted observations about the issues the Court addressed, the importance and effect of Supreme Court pronouncements, and the effect of admissions decisions on the achievement of the mission of Jesuit law schools. I applaud the Court's upholding the use of race as a factor in admission decisions in order to promote diversity as symbolically important, but believe that current levels of most affirmative action programs have been inadequate. Now that the Supreme Court has upheld the use of race and ethnicity in university admissions, Loyola University Chicago should greatly increase its commitment to a diverse student body in order to benefit society and to fulfill the Jesuit commitment to serving the poor and to striving to create a just society.

Keywords: affirmative action, jesuit

JEL Classifications: I21, I29

Accepted Paper Series