The Sky Would Fall

Lee Bollinger, former president of the University of Michigan and now president of Columbia, said in a speech reported by the Chronicle of Higher Education that a Supreme Court decision rejecting the Michigan preference policies would “erode the goal of higher education in this country.” (Link requires subscription)

According to Bollinger,

affirmative action is crucial if colleges are to fulfill one part of their mission. “Education is about developing the incredibly difficult capability of getting out of your own skin and seeing the world in different ways,” Mr. Bollinger said.

He also said that if Michigan loses the “movement to rid campuses of diversity” will move on to oppose other “educational prograqms, especially the use of scholarships that awarded using race as a criterion.”

Most university presidents, including Mr. Bollinger and his successor at Michigan, Mary Sue Coleman, don’t seem to have succeeded at escaping their own skins on the matter of race.

Say What?