Bok and Bowen Receive Education Award for The Shape of the River - Derek Bok and Dr. William G. Bowen to receive 2001 Grawemeyer Award in Education - Brief Article

Black Issues in Higher Education, Dec 21, 2000

LOUISVILLE, KY.

Educators Derek Bok and Dr. William G. Bowen will receive the 2001 Grawemeyer Award in Education for their book on race-sensitive admissions policies, the University of Louisville announced last month.

In The Shape of the River: Long-Term Consequences of Considering Race in College and University Admissions, Bok and Bowen study the academic, employment and life histories of more than 90,000 students who attended 28 academically selective colleges and universities throughout the country. They then systematically address many of the issues raised by critics of race-sensitive policies. They also tackle issues such as drop-out rates and demoralization of minority students attending institutions under selective admissions guidelines, the effect selective admissions has on diversity and racial tension, and alternatives to race-sensitive admissions.

"Bowen and Bok have made an unparalleled contribution to informing the debate regarding race-sensitive admissions policies," the Grawemeyer selection committee says. "In an area in which discussions often get bogged down in a wind tunnel of rhetoric, this work represents a guiding light."

A renowned economist and educator, Bowen is president of the Mellon Foundation. Bowen was president of Princeton University from 1972-88 after serving on the faculty for 30 years and as provost.

Bok was the president of Harvard University from 1971-1991. He is currently the 300th Anniversary Professor at Harvard. Also a lawyer, Bok is a former dean of Harvard Law School.

The Grawemeyer Awards for outstanding ideas in education, international affairs, music composition, religion and psychology were established in the 1980s by H. Charles Grawemeyer, a philanthropist and Louisville alumnus who died in 1993.