June 23, 2003

Print

Mary Sue Coleman | Paul N. Courant | Marvin Krislov | Ted Spencer | Jeffrey Lehman | Evan Caminker | Terrence McDonald | Maureen Mahoney | John Payton | Nickole Fox | Angela Galardi | Ayesha Hardison | Christopher Moody | Harlyn Pacheco |

Statement by President Mary Sue Coleman: “This is a tremendous victory for the University of Michigan, for all of higher education, and for the hundreds of groups and individuals who supported us. A majority of the Court has firmly endorsed the principle of diversity articulated by Justice Powell in the Bakke decision. This is a resounding affirmation that will be heard across the land—from our college classrooms to our corporate boardrooms.

National comments > News coverage > President Coleman's letter to campus > Complete text of the rulings: (requires Acrobat reader) • Law School (.pdf) > • Undergraduate (.pdf) > U-M Admissions Lawsuits website > News release > Prior coverage >

“The Court has provided two important signals. The first is a green light to pursue diversity in the college classroom. The second is a road map to get us there. We will modify our undergraduate system to comply with today’s ruling, but make no mistake: We will find the route that continues our commitment to a richly diverse student body.

“I believe these rulings in support of affirmative action will go down in history as among the great landmark decisions of the Supreme Court. And I am proud of the voice the University of Michigan provided in this important debate. We fought for the very principle that defines our country’s greatness. Year after year, our student body proves it and now the Court has affirmed it: Our diversity is our strength.”

Paul N. Courant, Provost and Executive Vice
President for Academic Affairs : "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. Whatever the new [LSA undergraduate admissions] practice involves, we will continue our commitment to a diverse student body."

Statement by Marvin Krislov, Vice President and General Counsel: “This is a triumph for opportunity. The Court’s decision leaves no more doubt that students at the University of Michigan and colleges across the country will have the opportunity to live and learn on richly diverse campuses. Our nation’s prosperity and national security will be strengthened by today’s decision. Diversity and excellence go hand in hand.

“I’m extremely gratified by today’s victory. Our outstanding legal team worked to put together the strongest possible defense of our principles and of our policies. Their work, together with the unprecedented support we have received from every part of American society, has helped lead to this outcome.”

Ted Spencer, Director of Admissions, Office of
Undergraduate Admissions: "I am extremely pleased with the Supreme Court decision to uphold the principles of Bakke. In rendering its decision, the court gave us a road map on how we can narrowly tailor our admissions process to help achieve diversity on our campus. As a result of this landmark decision, I am confident that we can craft a new undergraduate admissions process which will enable us to consider many factors as we continue to identify, admit, and encourage the enrollment of many of this country's best and brightest students."

Statement by Jeffrey Lehman, outgoing Dean of the U-M Law School: “By upholding the University of Michigan Law School’s admissions policy, the Court has approved a model for how to enroll a student body that is both academically excellent and racially integrated. The question is no longer whether affirmative action is legal; it is how to hasten the day when affirmative action is no longer needed.”

Statement by Evan Caminker, incoming Dean of the Law School (effective Aug. 1): “This is a significant triumph for the Michigan Law School and all of higher education. Today the Court affirmed the authority of colleges and universities to recognize that all students benefit from attending a school that has a meaningful degree of racial integration. This ruling will enable the Law School and other institutions of higher education to continue serving as a pathway to a more fully integrated society.”

Statement by Terrence McDonald, Dean of the College of Literature, Science, and the Arts: “We are delighted that the Supreme Court has upheld Bakke—endorsing, as the University has, the principle and the fact of a diverse student body. Historically, the College of Literature, Science, and the Arts has been committed to the ideal of a diverse student body, pioneering in the admission of women and students of color, for example. And our commitment to that goal remains today.

“It is now up to us to rededicate ourselves to this diversity by refining our undergraduate admissions system to comply with the court’s ruling. We will do this. We will put to work some of the brightest minds and most motivated people in the country, and the result, I am sure, will continue to be a model for all of higher education.”

Maureen Mahoney, Latham & Watkins,
Attorney for the University of Michigan: "This is a resounding victory. The University's defense of diversity was so compelling that only two justices interpreted the Constitution to prohibit consideration of race in admissions. And its evidence that alternative admissions programs would seriously undermine academic excellence was so persuasive that the Court decided to preserve higher education as we know it."

John Payton, Wilmer, Cutler & Pickering,
Attorney for the University of Michigan: “This is a significant triumph for the Michigan Law School and all of higher education. Today the Court affirmed the authority of colleges and universities to recognize that all students benefit from attending a school that has a meaningful degree of racial integration. This ruling will enable the Law School and other institutions of higher education to continue serving as a pathway to a more fully integrated society.”

Nickole Fox, Co-chair of the Native American Student Association: "As a representative from the Native community, I want to say that the Supreme Court decisions are a great victory. The University of Michigan began nearly 200 years ago with a land gift from the people of the Three Fires. Had it not been for their land gift, this prestigious university may not be what it is today. In a country where popular culture continuously stereotypes Native American people as always wearing feathers and beads or as mythical beings of the past, and where it is a rare occasion for anyone, even government officials to know anything about tribal sovereignty or treaty rights, it is crucial that Native American people are students, faculty and staff at institutions like the University of Michigan."

Angela Galardi, President of the Michigan Student Assembly: "Being involved in this great time at our University has really affected
my life in so many ways and I can't think of any other one event that
I've experienced that has been so amazing. To be working toward a
common goal with so many intelligent and different people can be the
most rewarding feeling. I also have been able to reflect on what I've
learned here at this University in the last 3 years and am able to say
that the relationships that I've built through working with SSAA and
those associated with us have been amazing and I really know now why
Affirmative Action is so important. I'm so happy that we won and that we will be able to uphold all the principles that are so important in
moving forward toward equal rights for everyone!"

Ayesha Ki'Shani Hardison
President of Students of Color of Rackham (Graduate School): "I am very relieved by the Supreme Court's decisions to affirm the
significance of race for both state and national interests, and I am confident that the University of Michigan will create an admissions policy that will continue to promote racial and ethnic diversity under the court's guidelines. I am left inspired by the rulings' committment to the integration of higher education and the victory it represents for social justice."

Christopher Moody, President of the Black Law Students Alliance: "The University of Michigan's affirmative action policy is about access and diversity in the classroom, the courtroom, and the boardroom. The decision handed down by the court is a green light for America to continue its commitment to diversity in all walks of life. The court's ruling is a shining victory for diversity in America."

Harlyn Eduardo Pacheco, Political Chair of La Voz Latina, Treasurer of U-M Chapter of the Society of Hispanic Professional Engineers, and Vice President of Sigma Lambda Beta: "My interest in affirmative action has always been sincere in its roots. I always look forward to the increased awareness of perspectives that Latinos and others provide in our diverse democracy. Our educational experiences as a nation will continue to plant seeds for generations of success, a great product of racial diversity in higher education. However, we are still amidst a rudimentary stage, and La Voz Latina at the University of Michigan and beyond will not stand for less than the succesful implementation of recruitment and retention programs for students of color across the nation."

Contact: Julie Peterson
Phone: (734) 936-5190
E-mail: juliep@umich.edu