University to keep focus on issues, not race

The University System of Maryland plans to use a report from the state attorney general's office to create programs addressing minority-related issues, such as college affordability, and achievement and graduation gaps, officials said.

The report, "Strengthening Diversity in Maryland Colleges and Universities: A Legal Roadmap," which was released by Attorney General Doug Gansler's office, outlines ways state universities can incorporate diversity into their academic programs without causing legal controversies over the role of race. While the report provides advice for all institutions in the state, officials said the university will instead continue to focus on issues that typically plague minority students, including disparities in academic performance.

"We're going to create programs not because they're race-based, but because they make sense," said Robert Waters, the university's assistant vice president for equity and diversity.

"We have great legal advice and scholarship advice. But it'll help everyone across the board, and it's nice to know where the state stands," he said. "We haven't had race-based programs at the university for a long time. We have programs that appeal to different affinity groups, but all of them are programs [that] have been open to everyone for the last 15 years, legally."

This university ran into a legal hassle in 1994 when a federal court banned its Banneker Scholarship on the grounds that the award was only open to black students. Since then, the program has become what is now known as the Banneker/Key Scholarship - an award based on academic achievement rather than race - and the university has not instated any more race-specific programs, Waters said.

The report, which is the first ever to be presented to state institutions that deals with race-based programs, encouraged the state's colleges and universities to increase their number of minority students within the limits of the law, said Raquel Guillory, spokeswoman for the attorney general.

"We did a more-than-a-year study to look into the issues and court cases to create sound advice with accordance to the law," Guillory said. "We sent it to everyone, trade schools included, because it serves as a good useful resource for them to turn to. In light of several court decisions, there was some hesitation on the part of universities to create diversity on campus in fear it could lead to court challenges."

The report explains the importance of having a diverse campus, but warns against the legal consequences of having programs and quotas based on race. It also asserts "the time is right for each Maryland institution to consider the meaning of diversity in its overall mission and to establish measures to achieve the diversity goals that best advance that mission."

A 2003 Supreme Court decision - Grutter v. Bollinger - ruled race could be considered as a factor of admission, but cannot be the determining factor. Despite the high priority placed on diversity in universities nationwide, many have veered away from race-based academic programs due to an apprehension of varying legal challenges and limitations since decisions like Grutter v. Bollinger were made.

Because of the legal limits on how programs can incorporate race, universities nationwide began looking for alternatives to race-based programs. But for some, like the university system, these constraints ultimately created an obstacle to achieving certain goals, such as closing achievement and graduation gaps between low-income minorities and the rest of the student population, system Chancellor Brit Kirwan said.

"In general, higher education across the country became very timid about pressing diversity programs because of the possibility of legal challenges," Kirwan said. "And there was a lot of animosity about what couldn't and could be done. [Universities] were trying to create programs, but were uncertain whether they had the legal right to do so."

Kirwan said the system aims to increase its diversity-based programs in the future to address minority issues like the achievement gap using the guidance provided by the report.

"Some of these students come from schools that don't have the same kind of standards that suburban schools do, so they come with educational differences that need to be addressed," Kirwan said. "So the ability to have specific programs is going to be absolutely vital. How we will use [the report] is to be able to design programs that go up to, but not beyond the law."

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