An Examination of the Effect of the University of Michigan Cases on the Complexion of Higher Education

Oct 15, 2026

Uploaded by Stanley

The article evaluates how two University of Michigan lawsuits reshaped admissions practices in higher education amid threats to access for applicants of color. It explains Grutter v. Bollinger and Gratz v. Bollinger, traces how the Grutter decision influenced other institutions, and reviews subsequent shifts toward “race-neutral affirmative action.” It also discusses graduation-rate disparities by race and cites judicial views on ending racial discrimination while addressing potential impacts on equity in U.S. university admissions.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryExam

FormatPDF

Pages10

Reading Time25 min

AccessFree to download

Abstract

Case Overview and Legal Impact

Historical Background and Policy Shifts

The Problem: Graduation Disparities

Figure 1: Graduation Rates by Race

Judicial Perspectives on Race and Discrimination

An Examination of the Effect of the University of Michigan Cases on the Complexion of Higher Education Elizabeth K. Davenport, Betty Howard, Sonja Harrington Weston Alabama State University Abstract Some of the nation’s most prominent colleges and universities have abandoned their affirmative action-based admission policies and adopted race-neutral affirmative action as a result of two lawsuits against the University of Michigan, which threaten the availability of undergraduate and graduate program access to applicants of color. In this article, an overview Grutter v. Bollinger and Gratz v. Bollinger is provided. Futhermore, the authors identify how Grutter v. Bollinger has specifically impacted other institutions. Keywords: affirmative action, admissions policy, equity, equality, higher education In 1996, Barbara Grutter, a Caucasian Michigan resident with a 161 LSAT score and 3.8 GPA, was denied admission to the University of Michigan’s (U of M) Law School. Grutter argued her denial was the result of affirmative action based on an admissions criteria favoring minority applicants, and in response, she filed a lawsuit against the University, the Regents ofthe University of Michigan, and U of M leaders in position at the time of her rejection: Lee Bollinger, the University president; Jeffrey Lehman, the dean of the law school; and Dennis Shields, the director of admissions. Grutter v. Bollinger (539 U.S. 306 (2003) was filed on the grounds of race discrimination in violation of the Fourteenth Amendment, Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, and 42 U. S.C. § 1981. At the District level, the Court determined the U of M’s Law School use of race for admission was unlawful. The District Court decision was subsequently overturned by the Sixth Circuit Court basing their decision on Regents of the University of California v. Bakke (1998) and considered the topic of race classification in assisting minorities in university admission. The Supreme Court affirmed the Sixth Circuit Court’s reversal, thereby endorsing the University’sadmission policy. To many, this was the beginning of the end of affirmative action. Affirmative action originated with an Executive Order signed by President John F. Kennedy in 1961; these policies were established to increase racial diversity and reduce instances of discrimination, in general, and to explicitly encourage colleges and universities to use an applicant’s race as a factor for admissions. Though once understood as a necessity to promote racial diversity on campus, affirmative action is currently perpetuated as an unpopular policy facing increasing enmity in courts of law. In its place, courts and commentators have been promoting an alternative form of affirmative action that is commonly called "race-neutral affirmative action. " The race-neutral affirmative action seeks to change the racial composition of those who benefit from education, by not granting preferences based on race, but by allowing preferences based on characteristics that are correlated with race (Fitzpatrick, 2014) . In Florida and Texas, for example, the flagship universities admit any in-state applicant who graduates in the top ten percent of their class (Fitzpatrick, 2014) . Moreover, the Trump Administration has recently launched a project to identify and pursue litigation against universities with affirmative action policies that are perceived to be discriminatory against Whites, in both undergraduate and graduate admissions (Savage, 2017) . Thus, the outlook does not appear particularly bright for affirmative action programs in the United States, that grant preferences based on race to blacks, African Americans, Hispanics, in regards to university admissions (Fitzpatrick, 2014) . The Problem Although students of color have made significant college completion gains from the 1980sto 1990s (Knight, Davenport, Green-Powell, & Hinton, 2014), African-American, American Indians, and Hispanic students conti

FAQs

What are Grutter v. Bollinger and Gratz v. Bollinger used to illustrate in this article?

They are presented as central lawsuits that resulted in changes to affirmative action and influenced how other institutions handle race-related admissions policies.

How does the article describe race-neutral affirmative action?

It describes race-neutral affirmative action as changing the beneficiary group’s racial composition without explicit preferences based on race, using factors correlated with race instead.

What problem does the article identify regarding college completion?

Students of color are described as making progress in college completion over time, but African-American, American Indian, and Hispanic students are still less likely to complete college than white and Asian American students.

Oct 15, 2026

Uploaded by Stanley