(2009). The Lobster Tale: An Exercise in Critical Thinking. Journal of Management Education, v33 n6 p725-746. Professors in management and business are encouraged to incorporate critical thinking as an objective in their courses. \The Lobster Tale\ provides an opportunity to engage students in various levels of critical thinking, ranging from a relatively superficial reading to an examination of the deeper, often hidden issues. Using the foundations of critical theory and systems theory, the story draws on economics, social theory, philosophy, and other disciplines to present a simplified version of the complexities found in our global environment. It can be used to supplement a variety of courses in the business curriculum and to encourage students to challenge not only assumptions but also conventional wisdom and, perhaps, knowledge itself…. [Direct]
(2008). Clientage and Contumely: How Group Preferences Foster Dependency and Resentment. Academic Questions, v21 n3 p275-287 Sep. Advocates of preferences generally claim the moral high ground, insisting that we need them to advance the common social good. To oppose preferences, therefore, is \to act immorally.\ Preference's champions view them as weapons against hierarchy and oppression. Their foes stress individual identity and autonomy. The outcome of the debate will hinge on the answers given to a couple of uniquely American questions: Who are we? What is the right way forward? Peter Wood predicts that when Americans take an unblinking look at group preferences, they will reject them. (Contains 8 footnotes.)… [Direct]
(2009). Latinos and Their Housing Experiences in Metropolitan Chicago: Challenges and Recommendations. Harvard Journal of Hispanic Policy, v21 p17-33 2008-2009. Low Income;This article examines instances of housing discrimination against Latinos in the Chicago suburbs through several interviews with thirty-four Latino families who live in towns with a recent history of controversies around fair housing. Whether they are living in the central city or in the suburbs, Latinos continue to experience housing segregation. Latinos often move away from the central city and into suburban neighborhoods for a better life, but they continue to experience hardship in acquiring adequate housing conditions that meet their needs. This article explores different forms of housing discrimination through the use of exclusionary practices such as predatory lending, inconsistent and selective enforcement of strict housing codes, systematic misinformation about home-buying, anti-immigration sentiment, and urban renewal and revitalization. The results of these practices are illustrated in currently foreclosure rates among Latinos. These challenges and housing… [Direct]
(2009). Access and Equity for African American Students in Higher Education: A Critical Race Historical Analysis of Policy Efforts. Journal of Higher Education, v80 n4 p389-414 Jul-Aug. Higher education has been characterized as \one of the greatest hopes for intellectual and civic progress in this country. Yet for many Americans, however, it has been seen as part of the problem rather than the solution\ (Boyer, 1997, p. 85). Some have acknowledged that higher education is a public good through which individual participation accrues benefits for the larger society (Institute for Higher Education Policy, 1998; Kezar, Chambers, & Burkhardt, 2005; Lewis & Hearn, 2003). Despite this, recent analyses have confirmed that too few African Americans are offered access to the socioeconomic advantages associated with college degree attainment (Harper, 2006; Perna et al., 2006). In some ways, the recurrent struggle for racial equity is surprising, given the number of policies that have been enacted to close college opportunity gaps between African Americans and their White counterparts at various junctures throughout the history of higher education. Though presumably for the… [Direct]
(2008). "Bakke" Set a New Path to Diversity for Colleges. Chronicle of Higher Education, v54 n41 pA1 Jun. Thirty years ago, Justice Lewis F. Powell Jr. sent the nation's selective colleges down a path where few had ventured before. In the U.S. Supreme Court's landmark ruling in "Regents of the University of California v. Bakke," he wrote that colleges were legally justified in giving some modest consideration to their applicants' race, so long as they were motivated by a desire to attain the educational benefits of diversity. Before "Bakke," selective colleges regarded race-conscious admissions policies mainly as a way to remedy past societal discrimination against black, Hispanic, and Native American applicants. The "Bakke" ruling declared that justification off limits, replacing a rationale grounded in history with one grounded in educational theory. The approaching 30th anniversary of that Supreme Court decision, announced on June 23, 1978, finds many in higher education wondering where Justice Powell's guidance has gotten them–and what, exactly, lies… [Direct]
(2008). How Preferences Have Corrupted Higher Education. Academic Questions, v21 n3 p265-274 Sep. \The first law of unintended consequences is that you can never know what they will be or how far they will reach.\ Professor Ellis examines the injuries American higher education has sustained through the unintended consequences of diversity. (Contains 4 footnotes.)… [Direct]
(2007). Twenty Years in the Vineyards of Higher Education Reform. Academic Questions, v20 n4 p270-276 Dec. In pausing to reflect on twenty years service tending the fragile vineyards of higher education reform as president and one of the founders of the National Association of Scholars, Stephen H. Balch stops to toast his hardy fellow vintners. Dr. Balch raises a weary but wiser glass to those who across the years and in many states have braved harsh academic climes and hostile intellectual winds to safeguard the tender fruits of reform. The vines remain tenuous and the atmosphere continues to prove largely forbidding, leaving reformers much more often with the bitter taste of vinegar than wine. Dr. Balch shares a cautionary cup. But through the sturdy dedication of vintners like the Foundation for Individual Rights in Education, the Center for Equal Opportunity, and the American Council of Trustees and Alumni, who can say what worthy wine the press of the next twenty years will yield?… [Direct]
(2009). Ethics in College and University Admissions: A Trilogy of Concerns and Arguments. International Journal of Educational Management, v23 n7 p537-552. Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to explore ethical challenges and dilemmas that exist within admissions systems at colleges and universities in the USA. Design/methodology/approach: Although the issues considered herein are examined primarily from the perspective of admissions officers, this paper also considers the viewpoint of prospective students (and their parents) who are seeking to gain entrance to specific institutions of higher education. The ethical concerns of admissions officers and prospective students within the admissions process is explored through conceptual analysis of a trilogy of ethical concerns and arguments regarding the higher education admissions process in the USA. Findings: Part I of the trilogy explores the admissions profession as a calling, discusses some of the ethical issues currently involved in the admissions field, and makes the argument that most of these ethical issues are rooted in a breakdown of the admissions system in two areas–access… [Direct]
(2008). On the Road to Equal Rights. Academic Questions, v21 n3 p259-264 Sep. In his keynote address at \Race and Gender Preferences at the Crossroads,\ a January 2008 conference organized by the California Association of Scholars, Ward Connerly confidently asserts that the era of explicit race preferences will soon be \deader than a doornail.\ However, it is up to those who remember (in the words of John F. Kennedy) that \race has no place in American life\ \to bury it\–hardly an easy task. In convincing the American people that a better vision exists than \diversity,\ our strongest asset will be their belief in the fundamental principle of fairness…. [Direct]
(2008). Racial Preferences: Doubt in the Priesthood. Academic Questions, v21 n3 p332-340 Sep. Race preferences and the postmodern version of multiculturalism have always triggered opposition in academia, but it has seldom come from the political left. Now things are changing. Growing unease in the academic \priesthood\ over preferences and multiculturalism may herald their end. Longstanding opponents of racial discrimination and identity politics will welcome some of the conclusions drawn by the new critics, while rejecting much of the reasoning used to reach them. Professor Dent discusses some of these critiques and the best way of responding to them. (Contains 9 footnotes.)… [Direct]
(2008). Bad Arguments Defending Racial Preference. Academic Questions, v21 n3 p288-295 Sep. Professor Cohen describes the arduous path to the passage of Proposition 2 in Michigan in 2006. In considering the reasons for its victory, he shows how claims (sometimes well-intended) "for" preferences rest on truly bad arguments. (Contains 8 footnotes.)… [Direct]
(2009). No Longer Separate, Not Yet Equal: Race and Class in Elite College Admission and Campus Life. Princeton University Press Against the backdrop of today's increasingly multicultural society, are America's elite colleges admitting and successfully educating a diverse student body? \No Longer Separate, Not Yet Equal\ pulls back the curtain on the selective college experience and takes a rigorous and comprehensive look at how race and social class impact each stage–from application and admission, to enrollment and student life on campus. Arguing that elite higher education contributes to both social mobility and inequality, the authors investigate such areas as admission advantages for minorities, academic achievement gaps tied to race and class, unequal burdens in paying for tuition, and satisfaction with college experiences. The book's analysis is based on data provided by the National Survey of College Experience, collected from more than nine thousand students who applied to one of ten selective colleges between the early 1980s and late 1990s. The authors explore the composition of applicant pools,… [Direct]
(2009). The Law of Unintended Consequences Revisited: The Case of Ricci v. DeStefano. Center for College Affordability and Productivity (NJ1) Deciding it necessary to review the earlier ruling of the Second Circuit court, on January 9, 2009 the U.S. Supreme Court granted certiorari in the case "Ricci v. DeStefano." The case originates from New Haven, Connecticut where a group of firefighters argue that city officials violated their Title VII rights by dismissing the results of tests they had taken for consideration in job promotion. After reviewing the results city officials feared that they had unintentionally created a disparate racial impact, as those of white backgrounds tended to outperform other racial groups. Consequently, they threw out the test results believing it necessary so as to not violate the Supreme Court precedent put forth in "Griggs v. Duke Power." The 1971 "Griggs v. Duke Power" decision ruled that employment tests that created a disparate racial impact violated Title VII provisions of the 1964 Civil Rights Act. Furthermore, the Supreme Court declared that a specific… [PDF]
(2009). "Parents Involved in Community Schools v. Seattle School District No. 1": Policy Implications in an Era of Change. Education and Urban Society, v41 n5 p544-561. This article examines the "Parents Involved in Community Schools v. Seattle Public School District No. 1" decision in light of its impact on the "Brown" ruling that preceded it. The Supreme Court's 5-4 vote on the matter of desegregation and equal access to educational opportunity signals that a divide exists in the United States with respect to the underlying educational values of excellence and equity. The current policy environment was examined and found to be dominated by the value of excellence at the expense of equity. Policy implications of the "Parents Involved" decision are considered, and policy recommendations for improving equitable access to education in the present environment are offered…. [Direct]
(2008). "Education Will Get You to the Station": Marginalized Students' Experiences and Perceptions of Merit in Accessing University. Canadian Journal of Education, v31 n3 p567-590. This article explores how four minority students in a university access program reconciled their presence on merit. They shared their experiences over two years through their application statements, life history interviews, weekly group sessions, and personal journal entries. Consistent with the discourse of merit, participants believed that by exercising agency and taking responsibility for their schooling, education will work to their benefit. They reconceptualized the access program as a scholarship program and affirmed pride in being university students, with a sense of obligation to their immigrant parents and a desire to give back to their communities. (Contains 5 notes.)… [PDF] [Direct]