AUSTIN, Texas—President Larry R. Faulkner issued a statement on Tuesday, Sept. 9 in which he reaffirmed the university’s commitment to implementing new affirmative action policies in admissions and stated his willingness to work with the Texas legislature to address a statute that could delay for one year implementation of such policies.
The Texas Education Code requires that an institution must publish in its admissions catalog a description of the factors considered in admissions “not one yearlater before the date that applications for admission are first considered” usingthe new policy.
The university had hoped to introduce affirmative action procedures for fall 2004. The statute would require delaying implementation until fall 2005.
Larry R. Faulkner
President, The University of Texas at Austin“The University of Texas at Austin is committed to its responsibility to educate leadership for the future, which must come from all regions and populations of Texas. In the wake of the recent U. S. Supreme Court decisions concerning college admissions, the University has been reshaping its policies with the expectation of implementing changes this fall for the admissions cycle ahead.
It is especially vital that The University of Texas at Austin re-institute affirmative action right away in considering applicants for graduate and professional programs. The requirement in Texas law that any change in admissions policies must be posted one-year in advance is deeply disappointing because it will keep our state for yet another year in an uncompetitive position nationally for talented minority students. It is unnecessary and unwise for Texas to sustain this requirement in the immediate wake of the Supreme Court’s decision, so I am prepared to work with the leadership of the State to find a way to relieve it, perhaps legislatively.”
For more information contact: Don Hale, 512-471-3151.
