Letter to the Editor: Racial Diversity Report of 1994 Wasn't 'Hidden'
by Paul N. Courant

Wall Street Journal
June 9, 2003

The May 16 commentary "The Evidence of Things Not Seen" by Chetly Zarko (Taste page, Weekend Journal) misrepresents research on the educational benefits of racial diversity undertaken at the University of Michigan. His most outrageous assertion is that the university "hid" a report from 1994, since this material was provided directly and openly to the plaintiffs in 1998 as part of the two Michigan affirmative-action lawsuits now before the Supreme Court.

The 1994 report that he cites was a preliminary summary based on the first two years of data from a four-year longitudinal study of U-M students. It looked at student perceptions of racial climate and attitudes about specific university policies and programs.

In contrast, Prof. Patricia Gurin's work for the litigation applied sophisticated statistical analyses to the data from all four years of the Michigan Student Study, as well as to other data sets. Her work examined how actual experience with diversity affected students' own educational outcomes. Perceptions of racial climate and attitudes about university policies are neither actual experiences nor educational outcomes. The relationship between students' experiences with diversity and their educational outcomes is central to the issue of "compelling state interest" before the Supreme Court, and is entirely different from the focus of the 1994 report.

Prof. Gurin's work is part of a growing body of research around the country showing the educational benefits of racial and ethnic diversity in higher education. A number of prominent scholars and social science organizations filed amicus briefs in the U-M cases, supporting her research methods and findings.

Prof. Gurin and her colleagues have never claimed that simply having certain numbers of minority students is sufficient, by itself, to bring about the educational benefits associated with diversity. In her expert report, she writes that universities also must actively encourage student interaction.

Not only does the 1994 report fail to contradict Prof. Gurin's work, but it was far from "secret," as Mr. Zarko claims. It initially was shared widely both on campus and nationally, and then, as additional data became available, the reports were updated and published to the Michigan Student Study Web site. Both the U-M's Bentley Library and the Office of Academic and Multicultural Initiatives followed consistent, well-established policies in making materials available to Mr. Zarko.

Paul N. Courant
Provost and Executive Vice President for Academic Affairs
University of Michigan
Ann Arbor, Mich.