In June of 2003, the supreme court ruled on the constitutionality of affirmative action plans at the university of Michigan. The court upheld the admissions policy at the university’s law school but struck down the affirmative action procedures that had been used by the school in undergraduate admissions because the policy was a point-based system that included additional points for minorities. In the time since that ruling, the university has regrouped and developed a new undergraduate application procedure that U-M president Mary Sue Coleman hopes will create “a more diverse diversity” on campus (Naughton, 2004).
The new form of diversity being championed by Coleman is one based less on traditional targets of affirmative action (race and gender) and more on socioeconomic status and family background. Coleman notes that “poor kids are nearly as scarce on campus as minorities” (Naughton, 2004, p. 78), and she believes that enhancing opportunity for students from a wide range of socioeconomic backgrounds will both benefit the student and enhance the quality of education available on the university of Michigan campus.
To encourage this new kind of “diverse diversity,” the university has switched to a longer application that delves further into information such as family background and a student’s role in supporting his or her family. The application also asks specific essay questions about how the student believes he or she could contribute to a diversity of ideas and thinking on campus. Coleman and others at the university of Michigan hope that this new approach to diversity will both improve the quality of education available to a wide range of students and withstand any future court challenges to affirmative action on campus
Designated disadvantaged groups, namely, women and ethnic minorities” (Heilman, 1994, p. 126). However, there there are ongoing debates about the efficacy of these programs, their impact on workers and organizations, and indeed their future as policy in the united states.