Background
Twenty years ago, California voters banned the consideration of race in university admissions and the effects of that ban have had lasting effects. Blacks and Latinos are represented at or below the same level as they were twenty years ago at selective UC campuses and their representation at those campuses has not kept pace relative to their population growth. As a majority-minority state, California’s future and prosperity is linked to the opportunity afforded to all its residents.
The UCLA Civil Rights Project and the Campaign for College Opportunity organized this conference to provide a forum for serious conversations about college access and the law, workable solutions to increasing diversity in higher education, the national landscape for expanding college access and success, and getting beyond affirmative action to meet the economic and social imperative for racial/ethnic diversity at public universities.
Conversations focused on developing a comprehensive strategy to address inequity and unequal opportunity across public higher education and in preparation for college by high schools. Affirmative action is not the only solution and the ban in California should not excuse policymakers or education leaders from addressing persistent gaps in access and completion by race and ethnicity.
Agenda
The event schedule and speakers’ bios are attached.
| 8:30 AM | Registration & Continental Breakfast | |
| 9:00 AM | Special Remarks Scott Waugh, Executive Vice Chancellor and Provost, UCLA |
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| 9:20 AM | Welcome Remarks and Overview of the Day Dr. Patricia Gándara, Co-Director, The Civil Rights Project at UCLA Michele Siqueiros, President, The Campaign for College Opportunity |
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| 9:30–10:20 AM | College Access and the Law | |
| A discussion on the major legal decisions related to race-based policies in university admissions that shape the current state and national higher education landscape. The discussion will also address legal aspects of unequitable preparation for college by K-12 institutions for underrepresented minority students. | ||
| Moderator: | Dan Schnur, Director, Jesse Unruh Institute of Politics, USC | |
| Panelists: | Angelo Ancheta, former Professor, Santa Clara School of Law Dr. Gary Orfield, Co-Director, The Civil Rights Project at UCLA Thomas A. Saenz, President and General Counsel, MALDEF |
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| 10:30-11:20 AM | Workable Solutions to Affirmative Action? | |
| A discussion on the impact California’s Proposition 209 has had on admissions and completion of underrepresented minorities in the state and whether attempts to racially/ethnically diversity public universities both in California and nationwide have been successful. | ||
| Moderator: | Gabriel Sandoval, Partner, Atkinson, Andelson, Loya, Ruud & Romo | |
| Panelists: | Dr. Stella Flores, Director of Access and Equity, Steinhardt Institute for Higher Education Policy, NYU Dr. Patricia Gándara, Co-Director, The Civil Rights Project at UCLA Dr. Mark Long, Professor of Public Policy and Government, University of Washington |
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| 11:30-12:20 PM | The Evolving Political Landscape for Expanding College Access and Success | |
| A discussion on the post-election opportunities for higher education including the Higher Education Act Reauthorization, Federal Financial Aid, Debt-Free and Free Community College, and the future of DACA students. | ||
| Moderator: | Dr. James T. Minor, Senior Strategist for Academic Success and Inclusive Excellence, California State University System | |
| Panelists: | Maria Blanco, Executive Director, Undocumented Legal Services Center, UC Davis Dr. Michelle Cooper, President, Institute for Higher Education Policy Bryce McKibben, Policy Advisor, US Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Daniel Suvor, Chief of Policy for the California State Attorney General |
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| 12:30-1:20 PM | Buffet Lunch and Keynote Address Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund |
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| 1:30-2:20 PM | Beyond Affirmative Action: Meeting the Economic and Social Imperative for Racial/Ethnic Diversity at Public Universities | |
| A discussion on the economic and social urgency for making college access and success equitable across racial/ethnic lines and the necessary rethinking of higher education access and success that moves beyond the confines of affirmative action. | ||
| Moderator: | Dr. Louis Freedberg, Executive Director, EdSource | |
| Panelists: | Stewart Kwoh, President & Executive Director, Asian Americans Advancing Justice Monica Lozano, Chair of the Board, UC Regents Michele Siqueiros, President, The Campaign for College Opportunity Ryan J. Smith, Executive Director, The Education Trust-West |
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| 2:30 PM | Call to Action Nolan Rollins, President, Los Angeles Urban League |
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| 2:40 PM | Next Steps Gary Orfield and Michele Siqueiros |
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