Inequities in Higher Education: Issues and Promising Practices in a World Ambivalent about Affirmative Action

The U.S. Supreme Court ruled on the legality of race-based affirmative action at universities in 2003. Although the decisions affirmed the legality of considering race in college admissions decisions, their long-term effects are not entirely clear. They neither resolved conflicts nor solved problems affirmative action was intended to address, namely, disparities in educational outcomes between Whites and ethnic/racial minorities. Although disparities have diminished since 1965, policies and practices to sustain and further increase diversity in higher education without affirmative action are needed. This article provides historical and conceptual grounding for this JSI issue, which examines approaches for attaining campus diversity. Collectively, the issue provides approaches for increasing diversity as well as strategies for managing and benefiting from diversity in postsecondary environments.     

The More Things Change, the More They Stay the Same: The Elusive Search for Racial Equity in Higher Education

In 1965, when affirmative action officially became part of the national consensus to achieve racial social justice, it was based on the compelling justification of establishing equality and remedying the effects of past discrimination. Since then, there has been a slow but steady shift from "equity" to "diversity" as its rationale. The shift has had a negative effect on achieving the original goal of racial equality. The diversity rationale has permitted parallel procedures to evolve that provided majority students with an even larger differential advantage than that conferred on minority students by affirmative action. In addition, we continue to have massive segregation. Minorities are concentrated in second level schools in urban areas, while whites are concentrated in higher quality institutions in the educational suburbs. It is without factual or legal foundation that whites can argue that they (relative to minorities) are the victims of discrimination through unfair and unequal educational policies and practices that determine access to higher education.     

Affirmative Action and Job Satisfaction: Understanding Underlying Processes

In the present article, we examine the relationship between perceptions of affirmative action and the satisfaction of racial and ethnic minority faculty members. We develop a conceptual model of factors that mediate the impact of affirmative action on the satisfaction of faculty of color, and investigate this model based on survey responses of 84 African-American, 48 Latina/o, and 59 Asian faculty. Analyses showed that the satisfaction of faculty of color is significantly related to how affirmative action is perceived to be embraced by the community, and that this effect is mediated by how supportive colleagues are seen and how much self-doubt faculty experience. Data also indicated the important role of mentoring for supporting the goals of affirmative action.     

The Impact of Affirmative Action: Black Employment in Six Southern Cities

Objectives. There have been numerous claims about the current role and impact of affirmative action, one of the most controversial public policies. The purpose of this research is to examine data on affirmative action and black employment in six representative Florida cities. Methods. Data were gathered on 167 randomly selected businesses through personal interviews with employers. OLS regression analysis was performed to explore the independent effects of affirmative action in a multivariate path model of employment–related predictors. Results. Employer support for affirmative action has a significant and positive influence on black employment, particularly at higher job levels. Conclusions. Affirmative action has developed a constituency among employers who value diversity in employment due to demographic changes that have altered labor and consumer markets.     

Political Experience and Fundraising in City Council Elections

Objective . Despite lack of attention from urban scholars, candidates' fundraising is a critical component of electoral politics in cities. In this research I evaluate the degree to which candidates' political experience is related to fundraising in city council elections. Methods . Multivariate regression is used to test models of city council fundraising in Chicago and Los Angeles. Results . In both cities, fundraising is a function of incumbency and prior experience as a political staff aide. Political endorsements are also important, especially those that come from incumbent politicians. The competitive environment also matters, as nonincumbents in open seat contests raise more than those who challenge incumbents. Conclusions . Fundraising in city council elections is shaped most notably by a combination of political experience and elite endorsements. For nonincumbents, the importance of prior experience on a political staff suggests a certain career trajectory for those seeking city council seats.     

Facing the Future: America's Post-multiculturalist Trajectory

America's multicultural struggles are now relatively dated. The policies about which multicultural‐type struggles now occur are quite modest (compared, for instance, with the much more extensive measures implemented in Canada and Australia). The reforms of the 1960s not only heralded unexpected consequences (such as the growth of the Asian and Latino populations) but were unavoidable if the US polity was to satisfy the basic criteria of democracy. These civil rights reforms and connected public policy measures, such as affirmative action or multicultural educational curricula, shape US politics—but in a way which interacts more genuinely with the country's vast diversity of peoples. Group‐based divisions are deep and enduring but they are expressed in an individualist political culture whose political institutions are responsive to individualist‐based demands, even when these demands are expressed through group loyalties.     

Understanding the Relationship Between Egalitarianism and Affective Bias: Avenues to Reducing Prejudice Among Adolescents

In an era during which affirmative action in education is in jeopardy, it is important to understand how the ideologies of high-status ethnic group members maintain (or reduce) social inequality. We examine the extent to which the relationship between egalitarianism and prejudice among European American and Asian American adolescents can be explained by outgroup orientation (i.e., how much one values interacting with members of other ethnic groups) and strength of identification with one's ethnic group. Using structural equation modeling, we tested whether these two variables mediate the relationship between egalitarianism and intergroup prejudice. Results revealed that outgroup orientation was a mediator, but ethnic identity was not. Implications for mutual acculturation theory, prejudice-reduction programs, and affirmative action in education are discussed.     

Nice to Know You? Testing Contact,Cultural, and Group Threat Theories of Anti‐Black and Anti‐Hispanic Stereotypes*

Objective. Many racial/ethnic policies in the United States—from desegregation to affirmative action policies—presume that contact improves racial/ethnic relations. Most research, however, tests related theories in isolation from one another and focuses on black‐white contact. This article tests contact, cultural, and group threat theories to learn how contact in different interactive settings affects whites' stereotypes of blacks and Hispanics, now the largest minority group in the country. Method. We use multi‐level modeling on 2000 General Social Survey data linked to Census 2000 metropolitan statistical area/county‐level data. Results. Net of the mixed effects of regional culture and racial/ethnic composition, contact in certain interactive settings ameliorates anti‐black and anti‐Hispanic stereotypes. Conclusions. Cultural and group threat theories better explain anti‐black stereotypes than anti‐Hispanic stereotypes, but as contact theory suggests, stereotypes can be overcome with relatively superficial contact under the right conditions. Results provide qualified justification for the preservation of desegregation and affirmative action policies.     

Judgments about the capabilities of city councillors and support for female representation on city council

Building on an earlier analysis of this data set, this study investigates the association between respondents' gender-stereotyping of city councillors with respect to work-related capabilities and their support for female representation on city council under conditions of low information. The earlier research found substantial gender-stereotypic bias in respondents' judgments about the office-related capabilities of male and female city council members. This analysis finds that the more positively women's capabilities to perform in office are evaluated, the more support there is for increased female representation on city council. In general, being “qualified” gets a candidate support but being female, for the most part, does not garner additional support. The double bind of this situation, however, is that female candidates are at a disadvantage because voters (in the sample) see men generically as being more able to meet the demands of serving on city council and increased female representation on city council can not occur unless individual female candidates are elected.     

Beliefs About Affirmative Action and Diversity and Their Relationship to Support for Hiring Policies

Two hundred seventy-three White undergraduates participated in an investigation of how beliefs relate to support for affirmative action (AA) policies. Beliefs included belief in the fairness of AA, belief in merit, and belief in the value of diversity. Analyses predicted support for a general affirmative action policy, a tiebreak policy, and a policy using banding from beliefs and individual-level variables such as future benefit from AA and demographics. For the general policy, each belief predicted support for AA. Fairness and value of diversity predicted support for a tiebreak policy. Value of diversity predicted support for aptitude testing. Individual characteristics improved prediction for AA in general but not for tiebreak policy or aptitude testing. We discuss predictions and results in terms of procedural and distributive justice, fairness heuristic theory, and models of support for AA.     

The Opportunity Cost of Admission Preferences at Elite Universities*

Objective. This study examines how preferences for different types of applicants for admission to elite universities influence the number and composition of admitted students. Methods. Previous research with these NSCE data employed logistic regression analysis to link information on the admission decision for 124,374 applications to applicants' SAT scores, race, athletic ability, and legacy status, among other variables. Here we use micro simulations to illustrate what the effects might be if one were to withdraw preferences for different student groups. Results. Eliminating affirmative action would substantially reduce the share of African Americans and Hispanics among admitted students. Preferences for athletes and legacies, however, only mildly displace members of minority groups. Conclusions. Elite colleges and universities extend preferences to many types of students, yet affirmative action is the one most surrounded by controversy.     

Race,Roll‐Off,and Racial Transition: The Influence of Political Change on Racial Group Voter Roll‐Off in Urban Elections*

Objectives. Many cities in the United States have undergone or are undergoing racial transition from a majority white to a majority black population. Accompanying this is a change in the racial makeup of elections and officeholders. This article seeks to explain racial patterns in voter roll‐off as a city undergoes racial transition. Methods. Using a fixed‐effects regression model, we analyze the level of voter roll‐off (from the top‐of‐the‐ballot mayoral contest) among black and white voters across Memphis City Council elections, from 1967 through 2003. Results. The level of voter roll‐off among racial groups is sensitive to the racial aspect of political change. Black voters are most likely to continue to vote in council contests when there is a racial choice among candidates, when blacks have previously been elected, and when blacks occupy the mayoralty and a majority of council seats. Whites are most likely to vote in racially competitive council contests, as well as when there are a large number of white candidates, and when whites hold a majority of the council seats. Conclusions. In settings such as Memphis, where race has played a pronounced historic role, the racial context of political empowerment has a strong influence on electoral participation. Elections below the top‐of‐the‐ballot become more salient, and political efficacy grows among racial group members when that cohort occupies institutional positions, particularly the majority of positions in a governing institution.     

Does Campus Diversity Promote Friendship Diversity? A Look at Interracial Friendships in College*

Objectives. One of the hopes of having diverse campus environments is that the daily interaction with students from different backgrounds will promote interracial understanding and friendship. However, it is not clear to what extent interactions and friendships are multiracial. This article examines the impact of college characteristics, social distance felt toward other groups, and precollege friendship diversity on the formation of interracial friendships in the first year of college. Methods. Using data from the National Longitudinal Survey of Freshmen, I examine how college characteristics, social distance felt toward other groups, and precollege friendship diversity affects the formation of interracial friendships in the first year of college. Results. The results show that while precollege experiences and initial attitudes do have an impact on the formation of interracial friendship in college, campus racial/ethnic diversity is also important in predicting friendship heterogeneity. Minorities have higher predicted friendship diversity than whites, but this difference nearly disappears in the most diverse schools due to the interactive effects of school diversity on friendship diversity for white students. Conclusions. This research provides evidence of the social benefits of assembling a diverse student body, particularly for white students, and can add to the debate over the continuation of affirmative action policies.     

Ethnic Differences in Predictors of Support for Municipal Affirmative Action Contracting*

Objective. This study explores attitudes toward municipal affirmative action contracting among Anglos, African Americans, and Hispanics, testing predictors of support separately for each group and measuring changes over time. Methods. In five successive annual Houston‐area surveys, U.S.‐born Anglos, African Americans, Hispanics, and Hispanic immigrants evaluated a strong version of the city's affirmative action contracting program. Results. Ethnic contrasts in support were partly mediated by differences on the predictors. The predictors of affirmative action attitudes varied greatly by ethnic group. Changes in support across the five years appeared to be associated with the 1997 campaign surrounding the effort to end the city's affirmative action program, and with subsequent policy modifications. Conclusions. The ethnic divisions and the recent increases among all groups in support for the city's program underscore the value of crafting carefully targeted and flexible policies that are perceived to be responding only to documented disadvantage.     

Valuing Diversity and Interest in Intergroup Contact

The present research examines ways in which valuing diversity relates to interest in intergroup contact among members of minority and majority status groups. Using open-ended responses, Study 1 reveals that ethnic minority group members are less likely to perceive that diversity is valued than ethnic majority group members, yet those who perceive that diversity is valued tend to express greater interest in intergroup contact. Surveys of Black and White respondents (Study 2) and ethnic minority and majority respondents (Study 3) indicate similar trends. Moreover, these studies consistently show that valuing diversity uniquely predicts interest in intergroup contact among majority group members, whereas perceiving that outgroup members value diversity predicts interest in intergroup contact among minority group members. Implications of these findings for understanding the role of diversity in intergroup relations, and reformulating aspects of intergroup contact theory, are discussed.     

The Pomp of Power: Black Mayoralties in Urban America*

Objectives. Although urban scholarship has come to better understand the dynamics of black political incorporation in the United States, to date scant empirical attention has been paid to an important element of minority representation in local politics—the rise of black mayors. The present study addresses this gap in the extant literature. Methods. We analyze incidences of black mayoralties by fitting standard pooled and random effects probit models to a panel of 309 cities observed between 1971 and 2000. Results. Although cities' racial profiles are strongly associated with the incidence of black mayoralties, black representation on city council, black educational attainment, and reformed governments increase the odds of black mayoral emergence. On the other hand, southern location continues to depress the rise of black mayoralties, as do partisan elections, particularly in cities where no racial group constitutes a majority. Conclusions. Although our results partially confirm extant research on the diffusion of black mayoralties in American urban politics, they also call into question conventional wisdom. Our study emphasizes the need for more large‐N studies of minority representation in urban politics and provides suggestions for how the independent effects of black mayors on municipal policy outcomes might subsequently be analyzed empirically.     

Affirmative Reaction: The Influence of Type of Justification on Nonbeneficiary Attitudes Toward Affirmative Action Plans in Higher Education

It is popularly believed that justifying an affirmative action plan (AAP) through emphasizing the advantages that diverse students can bring to a college campus will increase nonbeneficiary support for the program. However, there has been little empirical support for this proposition, perhaps because previous research has not directly articulated to participants the value of a diverse student body. As such, the current study sought to determine how the explicit framing of an AAP influences subsequent reactions. Both quantitative and qualitative data from 216 White undergraduate participants revealed that the utilitarianism justification that highlighted the benefits of the AAP to both minority and majority students, was the most effective means of increasing support for the plan.     

Why It Is Bad to Be Kind. Educating Refugees to Life in the Welfare State: A Case Study from Norway

In Norway, as elsewhere in Europe, the aim of policy‐making is to ensure the integration of immigrants into mainstream society. This paper focuses on one of the most concrete and practical measures Norwegian authorities have ever taken in this field, namely the recent establishment of a compulsory two‐year introduction programme for newly arrived refugees. This is an activation‐style programme involving both a financial and an educational component, where out‐payments depend on participation in a full‐time training programme aimed at enabling participants to become self‐sufficient members of Norwegian society. In the first part of the paper the establishment of this policy is located within a broader context of integration crisis, before it moves on to look more specifically at the background for the programme and the problems it is set up to address. The latter part of the paper addresses the implementation of the introduction programmes in one medium‐sized Norwegian city. The local discourse here is one of before and after, where the failings of previous policies have been overcome and new and productive practices have been established. Connections can be made between public and political discourses on integration crisis and the local discourses of implementation through the notion of kindness and the idea that kindness has hampered the integration efforts of the state. Herein lies a story not only about views on immigrants and diversity, but also about how immigration has challenged the Norwegian welfare state model.     

Affirmative Action and the Search for Educational Equity

We discuss the ideas presented by Renner and Moore. We agree that it is a mistake to justify affirmative action solely in terms of diversity, and we think it is vital to note the continuing disparities in the educational opportunities afforded to White students and to other students. We believe that the views expressed by Renner and Moore present an opportunity to think critically about a number of issues related to affirmative action.     

Responses to affirmative action: Is there a question order affect?

This paper analyzes the affect of question order on support for affirmative action. While the literature is replete with studies detailing the racial differences for support for affirmative action, there is a dearth of studies that analyze how probing, using open-ended questions, can influence individuals’ responses. Given this, we seek to analyze and explain how open-ended questions, related to affirmative action, might affect responses to close-ended questions as well as how their joint interaction help us to understand resonant attitudes. Using a split-ballot approach, we found that responses to the closedended question were significantly affected by the experimental design.