The U.S. Supreme Court is poised to make a decision that could change the face of college admissions.
The court heard oral arguments for the case Fisher v. University of Texas-Austin last week.
The potential landmark case could strike down a former ruling upholding race-based affirmative action in admissions practices.
Abigail Fisher, who is white, is suing UT-Austin for discriminating against her on the basis of race when she was denied admission to the university in 2008.
UNC also uses race as a consideration in its admissions process.
On Aug. 9, UNC filed an amicus — or “friend of the court” — brief brief—final.pdf in the case, asserting the University’s conviction that considering race in admissions is essential for diversity and academic enrichment on campus.
“We were trying to let the court know that our University, along with other universities, finds that diversity racially is important for learning,” said John Charles Boger, dean of the UNC School of Law and one of the authors of the brief.
Stephen Farmer, vice provost for enrollment and undergraduate admissions at UNC, said many people like to reduce admissions down to a formula, but it is nearly impossible to fairly evaluate all types of students that way.
At UNC, he said there are no quotas or targets for achieving racial diversity.