LOS ANGELES, March 19 /PRNewswire/ -- An ad hoc coalition of UCLA faculty members has issued this advisory:
John Moores, Chairman of the Board of Regents of the University of California, will release a controversial report on minority admissions later this month. His overall approach and thoughts are reflected in a recent opinion piece in FORBES (Mar. 29.) This approach includes:
* Limiting his analysis to just one part of the admissions process. * Misrepresenting the facts about Outreach. * Racial Politics: Trying to pit Asian Americans against Blacks and Latinos. * Class Politics: Stating that "poor, often minority" students are better off at community colleges.
In contrast, a recent UC report (link below) revealed a mere 0.7 percent disparity between predicted and actual admissions for underrepresented minorities. (Despite its methodological limitations, Moores' own report suggests no more than 1.5 percent disparity for all underrepresented minorities, which would be statistically insignificant.) Meanwhile, white students exceeded predicted admissions at six out of nine UC campuses; and the percent of underrepresented minority enrollments continued to decline while the population increases. (These latter facts have not been noted by Moores.)
The following UCLA experts in higher education can speak to the facts and provide balance in covering Moores's report:
Walter R. Allen, Ph.D. Professor of Sociology at UCLA. Expert on issues of access, equity and diversity in higher education. He has conducted research on the desegregation of higher education and on affirmative action in US higher education. Contact: 310-206-7107; 310-206-7585; 310-825-7766 (fax); or wallen@soc.ucla.edu Don T. Nakanishi, Ph.D. Professor of Education. Director, UCLA Asian American Studies Center. Expert on issues of access and representation of minorities in higher education and other societal institutions. Contact: 310-825-2974 or dtn@ucla.edu Jeannie Oakes, Ph.D. Presidential Professor of Educational Equity at UCLA. Director, UCLA Institute for Democracy Education & Access (IDEA), and the UC All Campus Consortium on Research for Diversity (ACCORD). Her research examines the impact of schooling a college admissions polices on equitable college access. Contact: 310-825-2494; 310-770-7770; or oakes@ucla.edu Daniel G. Solorzano, Ph.D. Professor and Chair of the UCLA Department of Education. Expert on issues of educational access, equity and diversity in California. Contact: 310-206-7855; 310-825-2624; or solorzano@gseis.ucla.edu. Links: FORBES: http://forbes.com/business/forbes/2004/0329/040.html UC REPORT: http://www.universityofcalifornia.edu/news/compreview/0308_meeting/ Data_release_summary_FINAL_Mar_8_20041_with_data.pdfBoard of Regents of the University of California
CONTACT: Manuel Valencia of Valencia, Perez, Echeveste, +1-626-403-3200ext. 213, for Board of Regents of the University of California
Web site: http://www.forbes.com/business/forbes/2004/0329/040.html
