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A trial over the race-conscious admissions policy of Harvard University could have lasting implications for selective colleges across the country. The lawsuit, brought by a nonprofit group called Students for Fair Admissions, claims the university discriminates against Asian American applicants by limiting the number of those students it admits.
The case challenges a common practice among selective institutions that is meant to ensure that they admit diverse groups of students, and it is unusual because it invokes the rights of Asian American applicants instead of white ones. It is also the first case since the Trump administration took office to challenge affirmative action. Legal analysts say the issue is likely to make its way back to the U.S. Supreme Court, which is more conservative than when it last considered the issue.
Here is detailed background on the case and coverage of the trial as it unfolded, in a federal court in Boston beginning in October 2018. The presiding judge ruled a year later.
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NewsA Judge Advised Harvard to Give Its Admissions Officers Training to Stop Bias. Will That Help?
The reach into the admissions world of training to avoid implicit bias has been limited, and some question how it could be carried out. -
News
The Nation’s Students Have Grown More Diverse. Has Harvard’s Enrollment Kept Pace?
While Harvard, which won a judge’s approval of its race-conscious admissions policies, lags in its representation of black and Hispanic students, it far outpaces other four-year institutions over all in its representation of Asian Americans. -
Affirmative Action
‘Everything Is Not Sunshine’: What the Harvard Decision Means for Race-Conscious Admissions
The challenge, from Students for Fair Admissions, may still end up before the U.S. Supreme Court. -
A Win for Diversity
3 Key Passages From the Harvard Decision
The university’s race-conscious admissions process does not discriminate against Asian American students, Judge Allison Burroughs ruled. -
Admissions
At One Final Hearing, Harvard and Students for Fair Admissions Squared Off. Here’s What Happened.
Both sides in a closely watched legal battle over race-conscious admissions made closing arguments in federal court on Wednesday. The judge heard allegations of discrimination — and several Orwell references. -
Admissions
Who Else Will Get Sued Over Their Admissions Policies?
A lawsuit filed in California on Thursday seeks admissions and enrollment data from the University of California system. -
Admissions
Before Harvard, Asian-Americans Were Thrust Into U. of California’s Acrimonious Affirmative-Action Debate
Attacks on “academic whackos,” public floggings, and impugned motives have all been a part of the university’s tortured debate over whether race-conscious admissions disadvantage Asian applicants. -
From the Archives
Both Sides at Harvard Trial Agree on One Thing: The ‘Wolf of Racial Bias’ Is at the Door
Students for Fair Admissions, which alleges that Harvard discriminates against Asian-American applicants, forced the university to reveal the inner workings of its admissions process. But what did all the evidence add up to? -
Admissions
Harvard’s Admissions Process Was Just Dissected in Federal Court. How Did It Hold Up?
It’s inevitably awkward to explain the inner workings of a long-secret system, but especially so for the gatekeepers of an elite university. Opinions vary among observers, but now only one matters: the judge’s. -
Admissions
As Harvard Trial Winds Down, Admissions Director Takes the Stand — Again
The plaintiff in a lawsuit accusing the university of bias against Asian-American applicants wanted to question the official about recently disclosed guidelines for considering race in admissions. -
Admissions
Harvard’s Star Witness Testified All Day. Here Are 4 Moments That Mattered.
David Card, a Berkeley economist, on Wednesday continued his defense of Harvard’s admissions process. Then he got an earful of tough questions from a lawyer who says the university discriminates against Asian-American applicants. -
Admissions
Dueling Economists: Rival Analyses of Harvard’s Admissions Process Emerge at Trial
In the legal battle over the university’s treatment of Asian-American applicants, one researcher calls another’s methods “completely nonsensical.” -
Admissions
At Harvard Trial, Statistics Give Way to Personal Stories About Diversity
Current and former students on Monday described why race matters in admissions. -
Admissions
Harvard Senior Who Testified at Admissions Trial Says Many Asian-American Students Support Affirmative Action
Thang Q. Diep, a student who immigrated from Vietnam, explains why he got involved in the case, and says the plaintiff is harboring “an ulterior motive.” -
Admissions
What’s New in Harvard’s Admissions Procedures: Explicit Instructions on Race
In the midst of a trial over alleged bias against Asian-American applicants, the university’s revised guidelines for admissions officials became public. -
Admissions
The Lawsuit Against Harvard Admissions Turns Into a Courtroom Battle of Economists
A scholar hired by the group that sued Harvard, claiming it discriminates against Asian-American applicants, testified at the trial on Thursday. The university’s economist disputes his findings. -
Admissions
The Case Against Harvard Relies on This Analysis. But the University Says It’s Deeply Flawed.
An economist and expert for Students for Fair Admissions put together a report that says Harvard’s admissions process discriminates against Asian-American applicants. An expert for Harvard says it’s not that simple. -
Admissions
Harvard Admissions Officials Are Grilled on How They Use Race in Admissions
In testimony on Wednesday, the halfway point of the three-week trial, three officials testified that they do consider race, but it is never a negative factor for applicants. -
Admissions
Harvard’s Racial Diversity Is on Trial. But What Do We Know About Its Economic Diversity?
Data showing how the university’s admissions process favors wealthy students is stark. But Harvard is by no means an outlier among its peer institutions. -
Admissions
Practice Mandated by Supreme Court Is Focus of Testimony in Harvard Admissions Trial
However the judge rules, both sides seem to be preparing for an appeal in a lawsuit challenging the university’s admissions process. -
Admissions
Harvard Trial Reveals What Admissions Deans Are Made Of: Contradictions
William Fitzsimmons’ testimony revealed a lot about how the university selects applicants. It also revealed something about the dean — and the complex job he has held for 32 years. -
Admissions
Harvard Is Challenged on Whether Socioeconomic Status Should Replace Race as Admissions Factor
As a trial in Boston entered its second week, a higher-education expert testified that the university could achieve its desired racial diversity without considering race in admissions. -
Admissions
Harvard Officials, Accused of Racial Bias, Defend Their Admissions Policy
After the first week of a trial in which the university’s use of race in admissions decisions has been under attack, the strategies of each side are starting to come into focus. -
Admissions
At Harvard Trial, a Dissection of Student Applications and Some Testy Exchanges
Admissions officials defended their process in the fourth day of a trial in which the university has been accused of discriminating against Asian-American applicants. -
Admissions
3 Takeaways From Harvard’s Alumni Interview Handbook
The document, made public in a lawsuit challenging the university’s race-conscious admissions process, suggests that interviewers steer clear of questions about test scores. -
Admissions
How Harvard’s Admissions Office Courts Donors and Low-Income Students
The third day of testimony in a trial challenging the university’s admissions policies revealed new details about the once-secretive process. Harvard has been accused of discriminating against Asian-American applicants. -
Admissions
At Harvard Admissions Trial, a Dean Defends Decades of His Work
William R. Fitzsimmons, who has led the university’s admissions program for more than 30 years, was questioned on Tuesday by lawyers in a case that is challenging Harvard’s race-conscious policy. -
Admissions
Harvard Admissions Trial Opens With Arguments Focused on Diversity
In a packed courtroom, the lawyer representing critics of the university’s undergraduate admissions policy said, “Diversity is not on trial here.” Harvard’s lawyer suggested that without such a policy, the courtroom would not be as diverse as it is. -
Admissions
Harvard’s Race-Conscious Admissions Policy Goes on Trial on Monday. Here’s What to Expect.
The latest front in the fight over affirmative action opens in a federal courtroom in Boston and could have lasting implications for colleges nationwide. -
Admissions
Will Students Testify in the Case Against Harvard’s Race-Conscious Admissions Procedures?
Some students and alumni are worried that their voices will be left out of the high-profile trial. -
News
Justice Dept. Slams Harvard Admissions in Affirmative-Action Filing
The department’s support for the plaintiffs was not unexpected in a debate that has flared during Donald Trump’s presidency. -
News
In Court Battle Over Harvard Admissions, Plaintiffs Allege University Ignored ‘Negative Effects’ on Asian-Americans
A lawsuit accusing the university of discriminating against Asian-American applicants reached a pivotal point on Friday, when previously confidential documents describing Harvard’s admissions process were revealed. -
News
Race-Conscious Admissions Returns to the Spotlight
Barely a year after the U.S. Supreme Court appeared to issue its final word on this form of affirmative action, the issue is back, following a Justice Department memo that seemed to promise Trump-administration investigations of colleges. Here’s all of The Chronicle’s coverage.
