Release date: April 5, 2005

Emory Provost Earl Lewis Discusses Affirmative Action

Contact:
Elaine Justice: 404-727-0643, elaine.justice@emory.edu
April Bogle: 404-712-8713, abogle@law.emory.edu

Emory University Provost Earl Lewis will discuss "Affirmative Action: Did the Supreme Court Save It?" in a lecture at noon Monday, April 11, at Emory Law School's Tull Auditorium, 1301 Clifton Rd. Lewis's talk will cover the intriguing and sometimes insidious background on Grutter v. Bollinger, the latest Supreme Court case on affirmative action, For information, call 404-712-8710, or go to www.law.emory.edu.

Lewis served as dean of the Horace H. Rackham School of Graduate Studies and vice provost for academic affairs/graduate studies at the University of Michigan during the Grutter case, which examined affirmative action policies at Michigan’s law school.

The Supreme Court ruling in June 2003 allowed Michigan to maintain its existing admission policy at the law school because race was one of several considerations used when reviewing individual applicants. However, in another case, the court nullified the undergraduate admission policy because it automatically awarded bonus points to minority applicants.

“The University of Michigan…mounted a successful defense of affirmative action before the Supreme Court because colleges and universities have a vaunted role in building a diverse democracy… affirmative action, as one public policy option, commands a longer life than opponents dare claim," says Lewis, who also serves Emory as executive vice president for academic affairs and Asa Griggs Candler Professor of History and African American Studies.

Among his many published works, Lewis co-authored "Defending Diversity: Affirmative Action at the University of Michigan," published by the University of Michigan Press (2004). For more information about Lewis, go to www.emory.edu/PROVOST/provost_office/aboutprovost.htm.

The lecture is part of the Center for the Interdisciplinary Study of Religion's Family Forum Series. The center, one of The Pew Charitable Trusts' Centers of Excellence, brings together diverse academic perspectives to explore the influence of religious traditions on law, politics, society and culture.

Emory University is known for its demanding academics, outstanding undergraduate college of arts and sciences, highly ranked professional schools and state-of-the-art research facilities. For more than a decade Emory has been named one of the country's top 25 national universities by U.S. News & World Report. In addition to its nine schools, the university encompasses The Carter Center, Yerkes National Primate Research Center and Emory Healthcare, a comprehensive metropolitan health care system.

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