Civil Rights Project Releases Statement of Nation’s Leading Constitutional Law Scholars on U.S. Supreme Court’s Affirmative Action Ruling

Editor's Note: Please visit Resources Related to Fisher v. University of Texas at Austin for more information about how our research has been used in the Supreme Court Case and our response to the decision.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

June 25, 2013

Civil Rights Project Releases Statement of  Nation’s Leading Constitutional Law Scholars on U.S. Supreme Court’s Affirmative Action Ruling

LOS ANGELES--The Civil Rights Project is honored to distribute today a statement of constitutional law scholars, an independent assessment of the ruling in Fisher v. University of Texas, at Austin, announced yesterday by the U.S. Supreme Court. We hope that this statement will be of great assistance to college leaders and college communities across the nation.  The statement hails the reaffirmation of the precedents of the last 35 years supporting affirmative action, and concludes that there is no reason for colleges to abandon their programs. The statement also advises universities that they will need to provide ongoing documentation of the reasons for their plan and that their consideration of race is carried out to the degree necessary to achieve diversity. The Civil Rights Project will be working with researchers from across the country to help colleges meet that challenge.  We believe that they can and that the review process will actually strengthen the diversity plans already in existence at institutions of higher learning.

A copy of the statement can be found here.

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CONTACT:  310/267-5562; crp@ucla.edu

About The Civil Rights Project at UCLA

Founded in 1996 by former Harvard professors Gary Orfield and Christopher Edley, Jr., The Civil Rights Project/Proyecto Derechos Civiles is now co-directed by Orfield and Patricia Gándara, professors at UCLA. Its mission is to create a new generation of research in social science and law on the critical issues of civil rights and equal opportunity for racial and ethnic groups in the United States. It has commissioned more than 400 studies, published more than 15 books and issued numerous reports from authors at universities and research centers across the country.