Affirmative Action and Academic Freedom: Why the Supreme Court Should Continue Deferring to Faculty Judgments about the Value of Educational Diversity

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.

Number of Pages in PDF File: 11

Keywords: Grutter v. Bollinger, academic freedom, affirmative action

Accepted Paper Series