Diversity Is What Makes US Higher Education the Envy of the World
President Lee C. Bollinger releases a statement on the Harvard affirmative action case.
On October 1, 2019, Federal District Court Judge Allison D. Burroughs ruled in favor of Harvard's admissions policies, saying the university had met the constitutional standard for considering race in admissions.
President Lee C. Bollinger is a strong advocate of affirmative action in college and university admissions. While head of the University of Michigan, he led the school’s historic litigation in two Supreme Court cases that upheld and clarified the importance of diversity as a compelling justification for affirmative action in higher education.
"Tuesday’s decision validates educators’ contention that achieving the highest levels of excellence in teaching, learning and research requires assembling student bodies that are diverse in every sense of the word, including intellectually, politically, socio-economically, geographically and racially," said President Bollinger. "American higher education is the envy of the world not in spite of, but because of, its unrivaled commitment to diversity."