Supreme Court to Hear Case on Affirmative Action in College Admissions

The U.S. Supreme Court will hear arguments on the constitutionality of affirmative action in higher education for the first time in nearly a decade. In an announcement moments ago, the court said it would accept an appeal in a much-watched case in which a white student denied admission to the University of Texas at Austin is challenging the university’s race-conscious admission policy. The university had urged the court not to hear the appeal. Critics of affirmative action see the case as an opportunity to reverse the court’s 2003 rulings that allowed limited use of racial preferences. Arguments in the case, Abigail N. Fisher v. University of Texas at Austin et al., No. 11-345, are likely to be heard this fall. The Chronicle will have more coverage of this news later today.