The future of affirmative action in higher education is in limbo as two circuit courts evaluate the contours and limits of Grutter and Gratz, the Supreme Court's last pair of cases dealing with this issue. Fisher v. University of Texas, from the Fifth Circuit, and Coalition to Defend Affirmative Action v. Regents of the University of Michigan, from the Sixth Circuit, are likely to be heard by the Court in the next year. This discussion will focus on the likelihood that the Court will agree to hear these cases, and the potential outcomes if they make it before the Court. What effect will these cases have on affirmative action in higher education and on diversity in higher education in general? Is Justice O’Connor’s famous prediction that affirmative action will no longer be necessary to achieve diversity in 2028 a reasonable assertion?
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