AFFIRMATIVE ACTION IN HIGHER EDUCATION
WHAT PEOPLE ARE SAYING
ABOUT KAHLENBERG'S WORK IN AFFIRMATIVE ACTION
Kahlenberg's 1996 book The Remedy: Class, Race and Affirmative Action was named one of the best books of the year by the Washington Post. Harvard professor William Julius Wilson's review in the New York Times called The Remedy “by far the most comprehensive and thoughtful account thus far for... affirmative action based on class.”
PUBLICATIONS
FOCUSED ON DIVERSITY IN HIGHER ED
2014
2010
2010
2004
1996
Kahlenberg is the author or editor of these books on affirmative action
He has written dozens of articles on affirmative action, including:
There are many options beyond
racial preferences.
He has provided in-depth, practical advice to colleges seeking to diversify in new ways
FOUNDATION PARTNERSHIPS
Leading foundations have supported Kahlenberg's efforts to address inequality in higher education
Ford (supported Bridging the Higher Education Divide: Strengthening Community Colleges and Restoring the American Dream)
Jack Kent Cooke (supported True Merit: Ensuring Our Brightest Students Have Access to Our Best Colleges and Universities)
Lumina (supported The Future of Affirmative Action: New Paths to Higher Education Diversity after Fisher v. University of Texas)
Nellie Mae (supported Rewarding Strivers: Helping Low-Income Students Succeed in College)
W.T. Grant (supported Restoring the American Dream: Providing Community Colleges with the Resources They Need)
PUBLIC SPEAKING
ON AFFIRMATIVE ACTION
Kahlenberg has spoken in numerous venues about diversity in higher education
"Wicked Problem: Affirmative Action--Who Wins?"
Aspen Ideas Festival
June 27, 2023
"Writer Predicts Diverse Colleges After End of Affirmative Action"
PBS NewsHour
June 29, 2023
"Affirmative Action in College Admissions Eliminated by Supreme Court"
CNN News Central
June 29, 2023
"What's Different About the Latest Challenge to Affirmative Action?"
PBS News Hour
December 10, 2015
"Race or Class? An Affirmative Action Debate"
Middlebury College
November 22, 2019
"Should Affirmative Action be Based on Race or Class?"
Pitzer College
March 8, 2011
HIGHER EDUCATION CONSULTING
Kahlenberg consults as an expert on diversity in higher education. Previous engagements have included:
Provided advice to The College Board on creating “Landscape,” a tool that colleges can use to create socioeconomic and racial diversity by considering the socioeconomic obstacles that students have overcome.
Served as an expert witness in Students for Fair Admissions v. Harvard and Students for Fair Admissions v. University of North Carolina. In those cases, he testified in Federal District Court in favor of the importance of racial diversity and said that the universities could employ a variety of strategies – including affirmative action for socioeconomically disadvantaged students – to achieve it. He worked with Duke economist Peter Arcidiacono to model what socioeconomic factors can produce racial and economic diversity in admissions.