On the Basis of Race

How Higher Education Navigates Affirmative Action Policies

Lauren S. Foley

• Publisher: NYU Press
• Year: 2023
• Print ISBN:
  9781479821662
• eBook ISBN:
  9781479821679
• Topic: Education
• Subtopic: Educational Policy

How universities can navigate affirmative action bans to protect diversity in student admissions

Diversity in higher education is under attack as the Supreme Court considers the future of affirmative action, or race-conscious admissions practices, at American colleges and universities. In On the Basis of Race, Lauren S. Foley sheds light on our current crisis, exploring the past, present, and future of this contentious policy.

From Brown v. Board of Education in the mid-twentieth century to the current Students for Fair Admissions v. Harvard and University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, Foley explores how organizations have resisted and complied with public policies regarding race. She examines how admissions officers, who have played an important role in the long fight to protect racial diversity in higher education, work around the law to maintain diversity after affirmative action is banned. Foley takes us behind the curtain of student admissions, shedding light on how multiple universities, including the University of Michigan, have creatively responded to affirmative action bans. On the Basis of Race traces the history of a controversial idea and policy, and provides insight into its uncertain future.

Table of contents

• Cover
• Half Title
• Title Page
• Copyright
• Contents
• Author’s Note
• 1. Beyond the Letter of the Law: Resistant Compliance in Racial Policy
• 2. Delaying Progress: Resistance to Desegregation in Oklahoma City Public Schools
• 3. Prioritizing Diversity: Automatic Admissions Plan for the University of Texas
• 4. Expanding Access: Holistic Admissions at the University of California
• 5. Preserving the Mission: Technology as a Policy Tool at the University of Michigan
• 6. Equality by Other Means: Rethinking Policy on the Basis of Race
• Acknowledgments
• Notes
• Bibliography
• Index
• About the Author