Study by ex-Ivy League college prexys cites value of affirmative action in higher ed

Jet, Sept 28, 1998

The results of a major new study by two former Ivy League presidents praise affirmative action policies at the higher education level by concluding that they have created the backbone of the Black middle class and taught White classmates the value of integration, according to the Chicago Tribune.

Recently released by Princeton University Press, the study, which is included in the book The Shape of the River: Long Term Consequences of Considering Race in College and University Admissions, viewed the records and experiences of tens of thousands of students over 20 years at 28 elite colleges and universities. Examining grades, test scores, choice of major, graduation rates, careers and attitudes of 45,000 students at 28 of the most selective schools, the study challenges much of the conservative thinking about affirmative action.

The authors, former University presidents William Bowen of Princeton and Derek Bok of Harvard, say that the completed work should put to rest major objections to race-conscious admission policies, especially the notion that Whites and Blacks are ultimately cheated by them.

The Bowen-Bok study begins by documenting the problem: Blacks who enter elite institutions do so with lower test scores and grades than Whites. As they work their way through these schools, Blacks receive lower grades and graduate at a lower rate.

But, the study found that after graduation Black students achieve notable successes. They earn advanced degrees at rates identical to those of their White classmates. They are even slightly more likely than Whites from the same schools to earn professional degrees in law, business and medicine. These Black students also become more active in civic and community activities.

The authors call Black graduates of elite institutions "the backbone of the emergent Black middle class" and say that their influence extends far beyond the workplace.

Blacks and Whites report fairly substantial social interaction at college, which they say helped them relate to members of different racial groups later in life.

The authors say the focus on selective institutions, such as liberal arts colleges like Yale and Princeton and state universities like Michigan and North Carolina, illustrates an often-ignored point: The debate over raceconscious admissions is relevant only to about 25 percent of American universities. The rest take all or nearly all who apply.

The report draws on data about students who entered college in 1976 and 1989 and on lengthy follow-up questionnaires with them.