What others are saying

Updated 1:00 PM June 24, 2003

What others are saying

Board of Regents Chair Laurence Deitch: "I feel gratified that we committed to defending our values, our principles and our students. This is a wonderful result."

Provost Paul N. Courant: "It is terrific news that the court has confirmed that this University and all others in the United States may pursue diversity as an essential element of a liberal education. Today's decision ends years of debilitating worry about what could or could not be done to achieve a diverse student body."

Charles Koopmann, chair of the Faculty Senate and Senate Advisory Committee of University Affairs (SACUA): "I think how it is applied and how the decision is dealt with will have to be done in a way that is sensitive to disadvantaged people. I feel the president and the provost are sensitive to those issues."

Gov. Jennifer Granholm: "I am gratified and pleased that the court has upheld the University of Michigan's ability to independently decide that developing a diverse student body is in the best interests of its community. I applaud the court for recognizing that fostering diversity is, in fact, in the government's best interest. ... The University of Michigan has created, and will continue to a create, a learning environment that is the very essence of what a university should be—a place where our differences create a robust learning experience that is filled with challenge, progress and hope."

President George W. Bush: "I applaud the Supreme Court for recognizing the value of diversity on our nation's campuses. Diversity is one of America's greatest strengths. Today's decisions seek a careful balance between the goal of campus diversity and the fundamental principle of equal treatment under the law. My administration will continue to promote policies that expand educational opportunities for Americans from all racial, ethnic and economic backgrounds."

Kathy Rodgers, president, Now Legal Defense and Education Fund: "This is a great day for America, and an important day in the long struggle for equality and opportunity for all. By upholding the government's compelling interest in furthering diversity, the Supreme Court has spoken loud and clear: It is constitutional to promote diversity, and thereby to expand educational and employment opportunities by using affirmative action.

"We rejoice today, as should all Americans. We also continue to struggle. As long as women make only 74 cents for every dollar a man earns, there is still work to do. The Supreme Court today has made it possible for all of us to continue moving forward. We call upon the Congress, corporate America and academe to take up the challenge."

American Council on Education (signed by 29 leaders in higher education, see complete list at http://www.acenet.edu/news/press_release/2003/06june/Supreme.html): "American higher education welcomes today's U.S. Supreme Court decisions in the two cases before the court addressing admissions at the University of Michigan These decisions enable our institutions to maintain their strong commitment to be welcoming places to students of all races and walks of life and to continue to pursue a wide range of legally permissible means of attaining a diverse student body. Now comes the hard work of scrutinizing and implementing the details of these important decisions."

UAW President Ron Gettelfinger: "Today's Supreme Court decision upholding the University of Michigan Law School's admissions system sends the powerful message that we all benefit from diversity in our schools, workplaces, military and society as a whole. Although we're disappointed the court did not uphold Michigan's undergraduate admissions system as well, we are pleased that the court provided, as University of Michigan President Mary Sue Coleman put it, a 'roadmap' for using affirmative action in a sensitive, individualized way to promote diversity in its undergraduate student body.

"The UAW is proud to have been a part of the remarkably diverse coalition of education, civil rights, business, military and labor leaders that supported the University of Michigan in these landmark cases."

Robert Sedler, distinguished professor of law and Gibbs Chair in Civil Rights and Civil Liberties, Wayne State University: "The part of the case striking down undergraduate admissions is important to the University of Michigan, but it isn't to anyone else. The case is a victory for affirmative action and for diversity."

Samuel Issacharoff, professor, Columbia University School of Law: "The Supreme Court unambiguously ruled that diversity in the classroom and diversity in training the nation's elite is a compelling interest. There may be some surprise in how unambiguous the ruling in Grutter was."

David Cole, professor, Georgetown Law Center: "Notwithstanding the fact that it was a split decision as a formal matter, I think it is a virtually complete victory for affirmative action as it is practiced at most colleges and universities."

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