Achieving Equal Opportunity and
Diversity in Higher Education

Affirmative action in higher education will be the subject of a daylong symposium at the University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology, on Thursday, April 11.

The symposium, Achieving Equal Opportunity and Diversity in Higher Education, is being sponsored by the James Brister Society and the Office of Affirmative Action and Equal Opportunity Programs at Penn. Topics will examine issues of access and equity at Penn as well as policies and programs that promote diversity in higher education across the nation.

Opening remarks will be presented by President Judith Rodin, CW'66.

Christopher Edley, Jr., Co-Director, The Civil Rights Project, Harvard University, will be the keynote speaker at the luncheon. Other speakers will include: Gilbert Casellas, President & CEO, Q-Linx; Raymond Fonseca, Dean of the Penn School of Dental Medicine and former Chair of the President's Affirmative Action Council; Theodore Shaw, Associate Director/Counsel, NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund, Inc.; Gerald Torres, Vice Provost and law professor at the University of Texas Law School; Vincent Eng, Legal Director, National Asian Pacific American Legal Consortium; Jeffrey F. Milem, University of Maryland; Alma Clayton-Pedersen Association of American Colleges & Universities; and Phoebe Leboy, professor of biochemistry and co-chair of the Gender Equity Committee.

Affirmative action has come under constant challenge in recent years with some states, such as California, restricting or banning race from consideration in college admissions. This event will provide an opportunity for the Penn community to discuss and debate affirmative action, its mission, and future almost three decades after it first became public policy.

The symposium will extend from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. A reception will follow. Students, faculty, administrators and alumni are encouraged to attend. Registration for alumni, faculty and staff is $25; there is no charge for students.

For more information and to pre-register, call Jeannie Williams at (215) 898-6411 or e-mail jeannw@ben.dev.upenn.edu.

--James Brister Society

--Office of Affirmative Action