Abstract
In 2016, the Supreme Court issued its ruling on Fisher v. University of Texas, a case which spoke all across America’s universities and to the heart of recent challenges to higher education’s diversity and inclusion commitments. The decision in this case, a continuation from an appealed ruling made in 2013, favored the University of Texas at Austin in a 4–3 decision. The complaint had originated with plaintiff Abigail Fisher, a student who applied to the University of Texas at Austin in 2008, but was denied admission. Fisher, a young white female, filed charges against the University, alleging they had violated the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment by discriminating against her on the basis of race. The oral arguments, first heard by the Supreme Court in October 2012, are particularly revealing, as they exhibit the many tensions and struggles that those engaged in diversity and inclusion work, both professionally and academically, must overcome.
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Notes
- 1.
This was certainly not the only challenge to affirmative action policies in higher education. See, for instance, Grutter v. Bollinger (2003) and Gratz v. Bollinger (2003). For an earlier landmark decision, see Regents of the University of California v. Bakke (1978), in which the Supreme Court upheld the practice of voluntary affirmative action programs in higher education, yet concomitantly declared racial quotas in admission practices to be impermissible.
- 2.
Fisher v. University of Texas at Austin (2013).
- 3.
For those interested in exploring diversity work further, as mentioned in Chap. 1, the Chronicle of Higher Education’s “Diversity in Academe” webpage routinely publishes the latest diversity related research by academics and journalists (Chronicle of Higher Education). Likewise, Offices of Diversity and Inclusion at institutions of higher education often publish electronic bibliographies that faculty and administrators have compiled. See, for instance, our Works Cited entries for: University of Rochester; California State University; and Harvard University.
- 4.
For a more in-depth discussion on the way the Diversity Charter aids diversity efforts specifically in Luxembourg, see Chap. 3, by Dominique Faber, “National and International Legal Platforms, Theory and Practice.”
- 5.
Luna Rösinger’s Chap. 11 in this volume, “The Law and Its Limits on the Path to Inclusive Diversity,” discusses the law in a liberal society and its compatibility with cultural diversity from as framed in the discipline of the philosophy of law.
- 6.
For a more in-depth discussion on the appropriation of “diversity” discourse by conservative forces, see Chap. 15, “Negotiating Diversity’s Discontents,” by Betsy Huang.
- 7.
For an overview on the ways in which administrators can encourage diversity efforts in faculty hiring practices, for instance, see Henry F. Fradella’s Chap. 7, “Supporting Strategies for Equity , Diversity, and Inclusion in Higher Education Faculty Hiring.”
- 8.
For an extensive critical reference work that covers contemporary issues that people of color face in the United States, from education and employment to health and wellness, see Lomotey et al. 2016.
- 9.
Indeed, research demonstrates that rather than relying on merit as defined by test scores or class rank in admissions, performance-based criteria is more effective and compatible with achieving institutional diversity (Alon and Tienda 2007).
- 10.
As Esteban Cardemil argues in Chap. 13, “The Gap Between Assessment and Creating Inclusion,” campus climate studies can be crucial in ensuring that minority and underserved voices for all community members are given a platform to be heard.
- 11.
For a case study on Universal Design, see Justin Powell and Lisa Pfahl’s Chap. 8, “Disability Studies in the Universal Design University” in this volume. See also Alfred Hornung’s Chap. 10, “Diversity and Life Writing in the Transnational Classroom,” in which he discusses his own enlightening experiences with respect to the concerns of the Dis/Ability Movement, along with their impact on how he chose to shape his professional career.
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Cyr, L. (2018). Literature Review: Interdisciplinary Findings on Diversity and Inclusion. In: Gertz, S., Huang, B., Cyr, L. (eds) Diversity and Inclusion in Higher Education and Societal Contexts. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-70175-2_2
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