SPECIAL EDITION

Former Atlanta Mayor Maynard Jackson 1938-2003
  Three-term Atlanta mayor Maynard Jackson died this week, leaving behind a city that wouldn't have been the same without him. His 1974 affirmative action program "[O]pened up a tremendous economic opportunity for not just African Americans, but also for other minorities and women," says Georgia State University's Harvey Newman. "Maynard himself used to brag that he created 25 black millionaires in the city." Newman, a professor of public administration and urban studies, can talk about Jackson's efforts to bring economic development to the city and about his mayoral policies. Timothy Crimmins, professor of history, is an Atlanta historian who also can speak to the legacy left by Jackson. Contact Newman at 404-651-4596 (office), 404-653-0102 (home) or hnewman@gsu.edu. Contact Crimmins at 404-463-9197 or tcrimmin@gsu.edu.

Constitutionality of Supreme Court's affirmative action ruling
  The U.S. Supreme Court ruled Monday that universities can consider race when shaping their admissions programs because of the social value gained from diversity on campus. However, to prevent unconstitutional policies, the court decided that race cannot be an overriding factor in schools' admission programs. Georgia State law professors Neil Kinkopf and Eric Segall, both constitutional law experts, are available to discuss the court's ruling. College of Law Dean Janice Griffith can provide an administrative perspective on the ruling, which concerned admissions at the University of Michigan's law school. "Today's global economy involving frequent contacts across many different cultures, races, and ethnic groups makes it even more imperative that students have the opportunity to learn from fellow students with a variety of backgrounds," Griffith says. Contact Kinkopf at 404-651-0892 or lawnjk@langate.gsu.edu; Segall at 404-651-2141 or esegall@gsu.edu; or Griffith at 404-651-2035 or jgriffith@gsu.edu.

Affirmative action on campus: Will minorities lose out in the long run?
  The Supreme Court's Monday ruling, which allows universities to give minority applicants a slight advantage in admission decisions, is a win for those who value diversity on college campuses, says Benjamin Baez, an associate professor of educational policy studies at Georgia State University. But the decision, which rejects Michigan's uses of points in undergraduate admissions, also makes it difficult for institutions with large applicant pools to actually accomplish that diversity, says Baez, an expert in race-conscious admission policies. According to Baez, affirmative action policies have become increasingly necessary as the nation's public institutions have become more selective. "If the public is supporting an institution, then it should find it problematic that its own children can't get into it," he says. If affirmative action policies are difficult to justify, even if not illegal in theory, he says, more universities may be forced to rethink their criteria for determining what it means to be a qualified student -- which may end up harming qualified minority students. Contact Baez at 404-651-1191 or epsbbb@langate.gsu.edu.

Georgia State Leads will be published monthly during the summer by the Department of University Relations. For more information about the publication or to sign up to receive Georgia State Leads, contact Beth Flannigan at 404-651-3574 or bflannigan@gsu.edu.

Don't see what you're looking for? Call University Relations at 404-651-3025 for fast access to faculty experts and university news. After hours and on weekends, contact Betsy Robertson, assistant director, via pager at 404-655-3456.

©2003 Georgia State University