Race-Conscious Academic Policy in Higher Education: The University of Maryland Banneker Scholars Program

Abstract

This research was undertaken in conjunction with the efforts of the University of Maryland-College Park to respond to litigation in the case of Podberesky v. Kirwan (1993). The case challenged the constitutional right of the university to operate a scholarship program reserved exclusively for high-achieving African Americans. This study offers a broad-based assessment of the Benjamin Banneker Scholars Program. The Banneker Scholars Program is a key element in the university's plan for desegregation and increased student diversity. The research was conducted in the summer and fall of 1992 using a variety of data sources: university records, personal interviews, survey questionnaires, telephone interviews, focus group interviews, and life histories. We found that the Banneker scholarship program continues to be necessary, as a specific remedy, to eliminate the effects of past, present, and cumulative discrimination against African Americans.