UT comments about Supreme Court case

WASHINGTON (AP/KXAN) - The Supreme Court will once again confront the issue of race in university admissions in a case brought by a white student denied a spot at the flagship campus of the University of Texas.

The court said Tuesday it will return to the issue of affirmative action in higher education for the first time since its 2003 decision endorsing the use of race as a factor in admissions. This time around, a more conservative court is being asked to jettison that ruling and outlaw affirmative action in the university setting.

A federal appeals court upheld the Texas program at issue.

The case will be argued in the fall

Tuesday university president William Powers released the following statement in regard to the court's decision to look at the lower court's ruling:

The University of Texas at Austin learned today that the U.S. Supreme Court granted certiorari in Fisher v. The University of Texas.

The university is firmly committed to a holistic admissions policy that is narrowly tailored to achieve the educational benefits of a diverse student body. The Supreme Court wrote in the 2003 landmark Grutter v. Bollinger case that the nation’s future depends upon leaders educated and trained through wide exposure to the ideas and mores of students as diverse as this nation. Our admissions policy embodies that vision.

A three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit unanimously affirmed in 2011 that the university’s policy is within the teachings of Grutter. Now before the Supreme Court, the university will vigorously seek a decision affirming the Fifth Circuit’s decision and reaffirming the educational benefits of diversity and our narrowly tailored holistic admissions policy.

The State of Texas’ Top 10 percent rule drives most of the university’s admissions. However, it is vital for the university to weigh a multitude of factors when making admissions decisions about the balance of students who will make up each entering class. We must have the flexibility to consider each applicant’s unique experiences and background so we can provide the best environment in which to educate and train the students who will be our nation’s future leaders.