Affirmative Action and Racial Equity: Considering the Fisher Case to Forge the Path Ahead

The highly anticipated U.S. Supreme Court decision in Fisher v. University of Texas placed a greater onus on higher education institutions to provide evidence supporting the need for affirmative action policies on their respective campuses. It is now more critical than ever that institutional leaders and scholars understand the evidence in support of race consideration in admissions as well as the challenges of the post-Fisher landscape. This important volume shares information documented for the Fisher case and provides empirical evidence to help inform scholarly conversation and institutions’ decisions regarding race-conscious practices in higher education. With contributions from scholars and experts involved in the Fisher case, this edited volume documents and shares lessons learned from the collaborative efforts of the social science, educational, and legal communities. Affirmative Action and Racial Equity is a critical resource for higher education scholars and administrators to understand the nuances of the affirmative action legal debate and to identify the challenges and potential strategies toward racial equity and inclusion moving forward.

Table of Contents:
Foreword by Gary Orfield Part 1: Background and Evidence Submitted Chapter 1: The Legal Context and Social Science Evidence in Fisher v. University of Texas Liliana M. Garces Chapter 2: Leadership, Citizenship, and Civic Capacity: The Imperative of Racial Diversity for Realizing Higher Education’s Public Mission Susan Sturm and Olatunde C. A. Johnson Chapter 3: The Promise of Diversity in Remedying the Harms of Identity-Related Threats and Racial Isolation Allison S. Elgart, Victoria C. Plaut, Nicole Arlette Hirsch, and Eva Jefferson Paterson Chapter 4: Tejas Es Diferente: UT Austin’s Admissions Program in Light of Its Exclusionary History Tomiko Brown-Nagin, Lani Guinier, and Gerald Torres Chapter 5: Access and Diversity at the University of California in the Post-Affirmative Action Era Michal Kurlaender, Elizabeth Friedmann, and Tongshan Chang Part 2: Lessons and Strategies Moving Forward Chapter 6: The Mismatch Myth in U.S. Higher Education: A Synthesis of Empirical Evidence at the Law School and Undergraduate Levels William C. Kidder and Richard O. Lempert Chapter 7: Amplifying Asian American Presence: Contending with Dominant Racial Narratives in Fisher Mitchell James Chang Chapter 8: From Access to Outcomes: Considering the Texas Top Ten Percent Plan and Its Relationship to Student Persistence Catherine L. Horn and Stella M. Flores Chapter 9: Walking the Diversity Rationale Talk: A Call to Institutions María C. Ledesma Chapter 10: Reflections on the Diversity (Rationale) Literature: Examining the Potential and Need for Critical Diversity Research Praxis Uma M. Jayakumar and Annie S. Adamian, with Mitchell James Chang Afterword: Working Collectively Toward Racial Equity in Higher Education Policy Uma M. Jayakumar and Liliana M. Garces