Welcome to the Affirmative Action section of our webpage.  This front page will reflect our most current information on  Affirnative Action affecting Higher Education Institutions.

 

Fisher v. University of Texas at Austin, Case No 08-CV-00263, US District Court for Western District of Texas, Filed 8/17/09

On August 17, 2009  Judge Sam Sparks upheld the affirmative action admissions policies at the University of Texas at Austin, finding they were in line with the Supreme Court holding in Grutter v. Bollinger. Race is just one factor used by the university, which uses a holistic review.

This case was a claim of reverse discrimination filed by Abigail Noel Fisher and Rachel Michalewicz.

The Texas legislature voted in May to limit the number of students who could be automatically admitted to the incoming class (under the top 10% program for high school graduates) to give UT Austin more flexibility. The court sided with the attorney for the University, who stated "If the plaintiffs are right Grutter is wrong." For more see the NAACP write up of the decision and related documents.  See also the Chronicle article by Katherine Mangan, titled Federal Court Throws out Challenge to U. of Texas Admissions Policy.