Equity and Excellence in American Higher Education

University Business, July, 2005 by Jean Marie Angelo

Equity and Excellence in American Higher Education Charles William G. Bowen, Martin A. Kurzweil, Eugene A. Tobin, University of Virginia, 2005; 472 pp; $27.95

William Bowen, former president of Princeton University (N.J.) follows his 1998 analysis of affirmative action, The Shape of the River, with this new title, co-authored with Eugene Tobin, former president of Hamilton College (N.Y.), and Martin Kurzweil, a research associate at the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation.

Bowen, now president of the Mellon Foundation, and Tobin, its program officer, make a case for affirmative action based on an analysis of 19 "elite" universities. The bottom line: Two years have passed since the U.S. Supreme Court gave the OK to consider race in admissions, yet IHEs still fail to tap the talent of minority and lower-income students.

The authors argue for more flexible admissions practices for needy students, a de-emphasis on legacy admissions and athletic recruiting, and more support for K-12 school districts that serve the poor.