Ali Hasnain
Chronicle News Editor
U President Bernie Machen-since becoming president in 1997-is recognized by many for his efforts to increase diversity on campus.
In a Dec. 5, 2002 article, The Chronicle reported that, according to figures released from the U’s Office of Equal Opportunity and Affirmative Action, statistics have significantly jumped during his reign.
The number of minority students attending the U went up by 23.7 percent and the number of foreign students-representing 106 different countries and 6.6 percent of the U’s total student body, according to the article.
One of the tools to increase diversity used by universities around the nation, including the U, was challenged, and until recently, it was unknown what the outcome would be.
In a 5-4 decision on June 23, the United States Supreme Court ruled in favor of the University of Michigan’s admissions policy-largely based on principles of affirmative action-which allowed the considering of race to diversify its student population.
The suits were filed against the school in a protest against the use of race in admissions policy, and a further question of whether using a point system-a practice used by Michigan’s undergraduate policy in which students were given a certain amount of points based on what race they were-should be allowed.
While the court ruled in favor of considering race in admissions in a 6-3 vote, it ruled that the point system was unconstitutional.
Machen-who was an administrator at Michigan in 1997 when the suits were filed-was “pleased with the decision,” and according to officials, both decisions only reaffirmed what was already a reality at the U, said U Spokeswoman Coralie Alder in an earlier interview.
Race, gender and economic background are some of the categories considered in attempting to add diversity to the campus, Alder said. The decision on disallowing a point system did not affect the U.
“We’ve never done anything like that,” even in highly selective programs like the School of Medicine, said Kim Wirthlin, assistant vice president for health sciences. And while the court decisions did not affect employment as much as students and academics, even faculty diversity has increased under Machen.
In the last five years, the number of tenured and tenure-track minority faculty has increased by 35.2 percent.
Some say the efforts need to continue and current trends should only be seen as the beginning in efforts to continually increase the U’s diversity.
“While a lot of progress has been made, there’s still a lot of work to be done,” said Director of Student Recruitment Suzanne Espinoza, in the article.