Amicus Curiae Brief — Gratz v. Bollinger

Nos. 02-241 and 02-516

Jn the Supreme Court of the Gnited States

BARBARA GRUTTER, Petitioner

and

JENNIFER GRATZ AND PATRICK HAMACHER, Petilioners.

We

LEE BOLLINGER, ef al, Respondents

On Writs of Certiorari to the

United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit

BRIEF OF GENERAL MOTORS CORPORATION AS

AMICUS CURIAE IN SUPPORT OF RESPONDENTS

THOMAS A. GOTTSCHALK KENNETH S. GELLER

Executive Vice President Counsel of Record

& General Counsel EILEEN PENNER

FRANCIS S. JAWORSKI Mayer, Brown, Rowe & Maw

General Motors Corp. 1909 K Street, NW

M/C 482-C25-D8] Washington, DC 20006

300 Renaissance Center (202) 263-3000

P.O. Box 300

Detroit, MI 48265-3000

Counsel for General Motors

Corporation

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Page

ee ca lenitaiiepsonntnntsniideteenimasenstenicmmensantion i

Er eiciircnnecnnesenicvasinssnessnsesseccesssvesces ill

INTEREST OF AMICUS CURIAE..........cccccccssssscossersssereeeees ]

SUMMARY OF ARGUMENT........0......:cccecccseeteseseeeeeteeeenees 2

ITED sinunicievidiitendiisiadesibeninianecenettennivintsiiecssscomenreccegase 3

I. CONSIDERATION OF RACE AND

ETHNICITY IN UNIVERSITY ADMISSIONS

FURTHERS A COMPELLING INTEREST IN

EDUCATING STUDENTS AND TRAINING

THEM TO COMPETE IN THE GLOBAL

I RIED orasitnnsenscennsientnnensnnepenteiaiansagatcccsesnnccovees 5

A. Institutions Of Higher Education Have A

Compelling Interest In Selecting Diverse

I iiteiniinsciccenitnidbsinsninnsininiiiontnnsnenmmccensin 5

B. Success In Today’s Business World Demands

Cross-Cultural Competence And The Ability

To View Problems From Multiple

Perspectives — Skills Best Learned In

Diverse Academic Environments....................:0000+++ 12

1. To Achieve Excellence In The New,

Diverse Global Economy, Employees Of

Any Race, Culture, Or Ethnicity Must

Possess Cross-Cultural Competence .................. 12

2. Diversity In Academic Institutions

Augments The Skills — Cross-Cultural

Competence And Complex Thinking —

That Students Need To Help Lead Our

Country’s Economic Future ................0:ccceeeeeeees 17

il

TABLE OF CONTENTS - continued

Page

3. Institutions Of Higher Learning Are

Ideally Equipped To Provide The

Exposure To Diversity, Development Of

Cross-Cultural Competence, And Critical

Thinking Skills That Graduates Need To

Thrive In The Business World ...........:::e006 19

Il. ELIMINATION OF AFFIRMATIVE ACTION

IN EDUCATIONAL INSTITUTIONS LIKELY

WOULD DEPRIVE BUSINESSES OF WELL

TRAINED MINORITY CANDIDATES WHO

ARE ESSENTIAL TO OUR NATION’S

ECONOMIC SUCCESS ......:-::ssssseseesreesessennsnannenenenseneens 22

CONCLUSION ......:essscessssercssersensnsnsnecssenssnsnsnensnnnnnenansnnnnenes

i

TABLE OF AUTHORITIES

Page(s)

CASES

Adarand Constructors, Inc. v. Pena, 515 U.S. 200

EEE EA eee eee 7

Brown v. Board of Educ., 347 U.S. 483 (1954) oo.ccccccn. 12

Gratz v. Bollinger, 122 F. Supp.2d 811

a 5,7, 18

Grutter v. Bollinger, 288 F.3d 732 (6th Cir. 2002)

SE ae passim

Keyishian v. Board of Regents, 385 U.S. 589

Sita sladioieadtreeetenneriincetecenddnnoneneneeteateocttateaneeenee 5, 12, 21

Metro Broudcasting, Inc. v. FCC, 497 U.S. 547 (1990) ...7,8

North Carolina Bd. of Educ. v. Swann, 402 U.S. 43

EE 1]

Regents of University of Cal. v. Bakke, 438 U.S. 265

LS ALA passim

Swann v. Charlotte-Mecklenburg Bd. of Educ., 402 U.S. 1

ee ne

Sweatt v. Painter, 339 U.S. 629 (1950) ..........0cc000. 11, 12,22

Sweezy v. New Hampshire, 354 U.S. 234 (19587) .......0.cccc000 6

Washington v. Seattle Sch. Dist. No. 1, 458 U.S. 457

ESET 1]

STATUTES, RULES AND REGULATIONS

elect nenscnmernenenenstecanccenes l

hY

TABLE OF AUTHORITIES -— continued

Page(s)

MISCELLANEOUS

Akhil R. Amar & Neal K. Katyal, Bakke 's Fate,

43 U.C_L.A. L. REV. 1745 (1996) .....-ccececseeeeeenennnns 21, 23

GORDON W. ALLPORT, THE NATURE OF PREJUDICE

(1954) ..neccecsecessscecssssernsnensensensnssnensnssnsenscsncansnnsnennssanannnes 20

T.K. Bikson & S.A. Law, RAND REPORT ON

GLOBAL PREPAREDNESS AND HUMAN

RESOURCES: COLLEGE AND CORPORATE

PERSPECTIVES (1994) ........cccccceessenenerennennenennnnnnnnnnns 3, 4,12

William G. Bowen, Admissions and the Relevance

of Race, PRINCETON ALUMNI WEEKLY 7

(Sept. 26, 1977) ......--s-scesesneensensnssnsneeneennernnsnnnnsenns 6, 10, 20

WILLIAM G. BOWEN & DEREK BOK, THE SHAPE

OF THE RIVER (1998) ........-cc-csesesseseesnsnsesennnensnanarennnnnnanenes 8

TAYLOR H. Cox, JR., CULTURAL DIVERSITY IN

ORGANIZATIONS: THEORY, RESEARCH, AND

PRACTICE (1993) .....--cecsssvcesesessesensnsnnnnsnnsnanensnnnnnnnnnnsnanene 14

Taylor H. Cox, Jr. & Stacy Blake, Managing Cultural

Diversity. Implications for Organizational

Competitiveness, 5 ACADEMY OF MANAGEMENT

EXECUTIVE No. 3, at 45 (1991) ....--c-ccecceeeeeeeeenrennens 13,15

Rohit Deshpande et al., The Jntensity of Ethnic

Affiliation: A Study of the Sociology of Hispanic

Consumption, 13 JOURNAL OF CONSUMER

RESEARCH No. 2, at 214 (1986) ..........-c--ceeeeeeeeenennensnnens 13

FEDERAL GLASS CEILING COMM’N, A SOLID

INVESTMENT: MAKING FULL USE OF THE

NATION’S HUMAN CAPITAL (1995) .....----0-cs-eeeseeenees 15, 25

.

TABLE OF AUTHORITIES - continued

Page(s)

~~ Motors, Workplace Diversity - The Competitive

dvantage, at http://www.gm.com/company/gmability/

diversity/people/workforce.htm] 24

HARVARD UNIVERSITY, THE PRESIDENT’ —_—--

FER renee mn : : 21

Janine S. Hiller & Stephen P. Ferri

: s, Separatin

— From Reality. An Economic dnahysis of

oluntary Affirmative Action Programs,

23 MEMPHIS ST. U. L. REV. 773 eS 25

JOHN P. FERNANDEZ, THE Div

(1993) ERSITY ADVANTAGE

JOHN P. FERNANDEZ, RACE, G ETOR

ENDER AND RH

THE TRUE STATE OF RACE AND GENDER tell

IN CORPORATE AMERICA (1998) a ae 14,15

ROSABETH Moss KANTER, THE C

HANGE Ma

INNOVATIONS FOR PRODUCTIVITY IN —

AMERICAN CORPORATION (1983) 0... 24

Kenneth Labich, Employees Must Reflect the Diverse

eflect the Dive

World, FORTUNE, Mar. 26, 1990, at 56... ca Te 25

WILLIAM G. LEE, MAVERICKS IN THE WORKPLACE:

HARNESSING THE GENIUS OF

(1998) AMERICAN WORKERS

acuesetestcudausnnaionemedennesnanteseestssettesseeensenmmensnnessessesss 16

are BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT AGENCY, U.S.

~ T OF COMMERCE, DyNaMIC DIVERSITY:

; OJECTED CHANGES IN U.S. RACE AND ETHNIC

OMPOSITION 1995 to 2050 (1999) 0 3,4

ne eames .

Gareth Morgan, Endangered Species: New Ideas,

133 BUSINESS MONTH No. FS) 16

vi

TABLE OF AUTHORITIES -— continued

Page(s)

Charlan J. Nemeth, Differential Contributions

of Majority and Minority Influence, 93

PSYCHOLOGICAL REVIEW No. 1, at 23 (1986) ...2..20002202-

- THE IMPACT OF

DIVERSITY CHALLENGED: EVIDENCE ON

AFFIRMATIVE ACTION (Gary Orfield ed., 2001) ........

Sumita Raghuram & Raghu Garud, The Vicious and

Virtuous Facets of Workforce Diversity, in

SELECTED RESEARCH ON WORK TEAM DIVERSITY

24

155 (Marian N. Ruderman et al. eds., EE 2

S.G. Redding, Cultural Effects on the Marketing

| Process in Southeast Asia, 24 JOURNAL OF 7

MARKET RESEARCH SOc’y No. 2, at 98 | —— 3

Robert A. Rosenblatt, PG&E Wins Federal

Affirmative Action Award, L.A. TIMES, “

Dec. 19, 1989, at D2......:c-ccereessnenenensnesnsnssnensnansnsnrnnnnene

tephan i Intergroup

Walter G. S & John C. Brigham,

Contact: Introduction, 41 J. Soc. IssuES No. 3, "

at 1 (1985S) ......sesececeeeenenenennensnsnenenenanennnsnns : emenaininaetiaes

? A Cross-

vid K. Tse et al., Does Culture Matter

we Cultural Study of Executives’ Choice, Decisiveness,

and Risk Adjustment in International Marketing, ™

52 JOURNAL OF MARKETING No. 4, at 81 (1988) ..........

BRIEF OF GENERAL MOTORS CORPORATION AS

AMICUS CURIAE IN SUPPORT OF RESPONDENTS

INTEREST OF AMICUS CURIAE

General Motors Corporation (“General Motors”) is a

multi-national corporation headquartered in Detroit,

Michigan.’ A global leader in automobile design and

manufacturing, financial services, and advanced technolog y

electronics, General Motors contributes substantially to the

national and world economies, with annual revenues

exceeding $175 billion. General Motors employs 388,000

people globally, including 193,000 people in the United

States.

General Motors’ interest in this case is substantial.

General Motors employs a large number of graduates from

the University of Michigan.’ General Motors depends upon

the University of Michigan and similarly selective academic

institutions to prepare students for employment — to teach

them the skills required to succeed and lead in the global

marketplace. The quality of the education these students

receive profoundly affects the ability of General Motors, and

indeed al] major American corporations, to compete.

' Pursuant to Rule 37.3(a) of the Rules of the Court, the parties

have lodged letters consenting generally to the filing of briefs of

amici curiae. Pursuant to Rule 37.6, amicus affirms that no counsel

for a party authored this brief in whole or in part and that no

person other than amicus and its counsel made a monetary

contribution to its preparation or submission.

. In part because General Motors hires so many graduates from

the University of Michigan, the University is one of General

Motors’ “Key Institutions,” to which the company provides

signifi a Mire yer

2

SUMMARY OF ARGUMENT

General Motors files as amicus curiae in this case to

explain that the Nation’s interest in safeguarding the freedom

of academic institutions to select racially and ethnically

diverse student bodies is indeed compelling: the future of

American business and, in some measure, of the American

economy depends upon it.

In General Motors’ experience, only a well educated,

diverse work force, comprising people who have learned to

work productively and creatively with individuals from a

multitude of races and ethnic, religious, and cultural

backgrounds, can maintain America’s competitiveness in the

increasingly diverse and interconnected world economy.

Diversity in academic institutions is essential to teaching

« dents the human relations and analytic skills they need to

succeed and lead in the work environments of the twenty-

first century. These skills include the abilities to work well

with colleagues and subordinates from diverse backgrounds,

to view issues from multiple perspectives; and to anticipate

and to respond with sensitivity to the cultural differences of

highly diverse customers, colleagues, employees, and global

business partners.

General Motors speaks from first-hand experience

regarding the importance of such cross-cultural skills. As

General Motors’ global enterprises expand, it is increasingly

critical that employees at every level of its operations utilize

these skills in their daily tasks. General Motors now

maintains major market presences in more then 200 different

countries on six continents. General Motors’ employees,

customers, and business partners thus could scarcely be more

racially, ethnically, and culturally diverse.

A ruling proscribing the consideration of race and

ctunicity im etmlesions decisions Wnaly would doumatieally

reduce diversity at our Nation’s top institutions and thereby

deprive the students who will become the corps of our

EE eae

3

Nation’s business elite of the interracial and multicultural

interactions in an academic setting that are so integral to their

acquisition of cross-cultural skills. Such a ruling also likely

would reduce racial and ethnic diversity in the pool of

employment candidates from which the Nation’s businesses

can draw their future leaders, impeding businesses’ own

efforts to obtain the manifold benefits of diversity in the

managerial] levels of their work forces. Each of these results

may diminish the ability of American businesses to utilize

fully the opportunities of the global market.

ARGUMENT

The ability of American businesses to thrive in the

twenty-first century will depend in large measure on our

Nation’s responses to two inevitable forces: the increasingly

global and interconnected nature of the world economy (see,

e.g., T.K. BIKSON & S.A. LAW, RAND REPORT ON GLOBAL

PREPAREDNESS AND HUMAN RESOURCES: COLLEGE AND

CORPORATE PERSPECTIVES (1994) (“RAND REPORT’”)) and

the increasing diversity of our own pvupulation (see, e.g.,

MINORITY BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT AGENCY, U.S. Dep’T OF

COMMERCE, DYNAMIC DIVERSITY: PROJECTED CHANGES IN

U.S. RACE AND ETHNIC COMPOSITION 1995 TO 2050 (1999)

(“DYNAMIC DIvERSITY”)). The vast majority of businesses in

the Fortune 500 currently maintain operations or do business

in countries outside of the United States. Technological

innovations, including the internet and _ other

telecommunications tools, are creating a truly global,

interlinked world economy. See RAND REPORT, supra, at 1-

2. Global mergers and business expansion are continually

increasing the diversity of American businesses’ customer

bases and business partners.

Nationally, our own population is also

increasingly diverse: by the -year 2050, almost half of all

Americans — 47% — will be African American, Hispanic,

Asian American, or Native American. See DYNAMIC

4

that “minority”

DIVERSITY, supra, at 8. After 2050,

population is projected rapidly to surpass the non-Hispanic

white population in size. Jd. at 11; see also id. at 1.

To succeed in this increasing!y civerse environment,

American businesses must select leaders who POSSESS CTOSS-

cultural competence — the capacities to interact with and to

understand the experiences of, and multiplicity of

perspectives held by, persons of different races, ethnicities,

and cultural histories. Numerous authorities concur that

“(c}rosscultural competence” is “the most important

attribute for future effective performance in a glo

marketplace.” RAND REPORT, supra, at 51; see also id. at 24

(identifying “crosscultural competence” as ‘the critical new

human resource requirement for corporations that have

espoused a global business strategy”) (emphasis in original).

Thus, it is essential that the selective academic institutions

that prepare students to enter the business and professional

worlds adequately equip them with this skill. /d. at 51-52.

Much research confirms what is intuitively eee

are likely to acquire greater cross-c

poor en in a cational and multiracial academi c

environment, in. which students and faculty of different

cultures and races interact, than they are in a homogeneous

one, in which cross-cultural communication 1s merely a

theoretical construct. See pp. 17-18, infra.

The Court is presented with the question whether state

universities have a compelling interest in ensuring that

students receive these educational benefits. The answer to

that question, originally provided by Justice Powell’s a

in Regents of University of California v. Bakke, 438 US. 2

(1978), and confirmed by the experience of the business

community and academic institutions in the decades since

Bakke was decided, is a resounding “yes,” as the Sixth

Circuit, sitting en banc, correctly concluded. Gratter v.

Bollinger, 288 F.3d 732, 742 (6th Cir. 2002) (en banc); see

SAR ne oO cea Nn OPS

5

also Gratz v. Bollinger, 122 F. Supp.2d 811, 820 (E.D. Mich.

2000). °

I. CONSIDERATION OF RACE AND ETHNICITY

IN UNIVERSITY ADMISSIONS FURTHERS A

COMPELLING INTEREST IN EDUCATING

STUDENTS AND TRAINING THEM TO

COMPETE IN THE GLOBAL MARKETPLACE

A. Institutions Of Higher Education Have A

Compelling Interest In Selecting Diverse Student

Bodies

Justice Powell presciently declared in Bakke that “the

‘nation’s future depends upon leaders trained through wide

exposure’ to the ideas and mores of students as diverse as

this Nation of many peoples.” 438 U.S. at 313 (quoting

Keyishian v. Board of Regents, 385 U.S. 589, 603 (1967)). A

majority of the Court held in Bakke that the University of

California had “a substantial interest that legitimately may be

served by a properly devised admissions program involving

the competitive consideration of race and ethnic origin.” Jd.

at 320 (opinion of Powell, J., joined by Brennan, White,

Marsha!l, and Blackmun, JJ.). In his opinion, Justice Powell

explained that “attainment of a [racially and ethnically]

diverse student body * * * clearly is a constitutionally

permissible goal for an institution of higher education” (id. at

311-312) because it augments the educational process in two

ways.

First, racial and ethnic diversity in an academic

institution teaches students skills that will improve their

performance as leaders and professionals in a heterogeneous

> We leave to the parties, who possess greater familiarity with the

details of the University’s program, the question whether the

program is narrowly tailored to achieve the above-described

compelling interest.

*

6

iety. 438 U.S. at 313. Immersion in a multiracial

me environment enhances students’ knowledge of

different cultures and their understanding of perspectives that

are influenced by race. That augmented understanding re

turn prepares students, upon graduation, to wor

cooperatively in multiracial environments and to —

multiracial clienteles. As Justice Powell observed, “as

example, racial diversity in a medical school enrich[es}

training of its student body(,] * ote better equip[ping] its

graduates to render with understanding their vital service” to

a “heterogeneous population.” Jd. at 314.

Second, racial and ethnic diversity promotes

“speculation, experiment, and creation,”” thinking eo

that are “essential to the quality of higher education. ~

U.S. at 312 (quoting Sweezy v. New Hampshire, 354 US.

234, 263 (1957) (Frankfurter, J., concurring)). Differences

among students allow them to ““stimulate one another to

reexamine even their most deeply held assumptions about

themselves and their world,” teaching them to view issues

from myriad perspectives. /d. at 312 & n.48 (quoting

William G. Bowen, Admissions and the Relevance of Race,

PRINCETON ALUMNI WEEKLY 7, 9 (Sept. 26, 1977)).

i ircui ice Powell’s

The en banc Sixth Circuit concluded that Justice vel”

opinion in Bakke is controlling.‘ Its decision that diversity is

‘ Petitioners and amici assert that this aspect of the Bakke opinion

is ponmennee because only Justice Powell’s opinion no

an interest in fostering diverse student bodies is —— ao

Grutter Brief at 26-27 (Jan. 16, 2003); Gratz Brief at 31-3 ( a

16, 2003); Cato Inst. Brief at 15 (Jan. 16, 2003); Nat’l Ass no

Scholars Brief (Grutter) at 16-17 (Jan. 15, 2003). Because oe

Powell’s holding that diversity is a compelling state interest is th

narrowest ground offered in support of the Bakke =. it is

controlling. In any case, as the Sixth Circuit reson —

Brennan’s opinion contains implicit support for Justice Powell’s

“diversity conclusion.” Grutter, 288 F.3d at 742.

— ee senile

— age et te COLELLO CO IE COAG TITER

'

7

a compelling interest is supported by a mass of unrefuted

evidence presented in the trial courts below, substantiating

both of Justice Powell’s statements regarding the ways in

which racial and ethnic diversity enhance students’

intellectual and social growth. Reviewing this evidence,

Judge Duggan found that the University had presented “solid

evidence regarding the educational benefits that flow from a

racially and ethnically diverse student body” and, guided by

Justice Powell’s opinion, concluded that the University’s

interest in achieving these benefits is compelling. Gratz, 122

F. Supp.2d at 822, 824.

Petitioners and their amici* attack the Sixth Circuit’s

holding, arguing that the contention that racial diversity

among students enhances educational diversity “reflect[s] * *

* racial stereotyping about how people will (or should) think

or behave on account of their skin color or ethnicity.” Cato

Inst. Brief at 3 (Jan. 16, 2003). But in Metro Broadcasting,

Inc. v. FCC, 497 U.S. 547 ( 1990), the Court explicitly

endorsed Justice Powell’s view that racial diversity tends to

promote a healthy and educational diversity of viewpoints.

The Court explained: “{t}he predictive judgment about the

overall result of minority” representation “is not a rigid

assumption about how minorit[ies] * * * will behave in every

case but rather” merely recognizes “that greater admission of

minorities would contribute, on average, ‘to the robust

exchange of ideas.’” Id. at 579 (quoting Bakke, 438 U.S. at

313).

* £E.g., Grutter Brief at 34-35; Gratz Brief at 29-30; Ctr. For New

Black Leadership Brief at 3-4 (Jan. 15, 2003); Nat’l Ass’n of

Scholars Brief (Grutter) at 12-13; Pac. Legal Found. Brief

(Grutter) at 16-18 (Jan. 14, 2003); W. Connerly Brief at 23-24

(Jan. 16, 2003).

° In Adarand Constructors, Inc. v. Pena, 515 US. 200, 225-227

(1995), the Court overruled Metro Broadcasting on a different

ground — specifically, that a race-conscious federal government

8

conclusion is plainly correct. Although persons of a

oan race OF ethnicity of course do not necessarily share

a common perspective, race and ethnicity are as likely as any

other experience to influence an individual S$ own, unique

tive. Just as growing up in a particular region, living

with a disability, or having particular professional

experiences are likely to affect an individual $ views, SO too

is one’s experience of being a member of a racial minority in

a society, like ours, in which, unfortunately, race still yee

See WILLIAM G. BOWEN & DEREK BOK, THE SHAPE OF IHE

RIVER 278-279 (1998).

umerous amici and Judge Boggs in his dissent all

eames that admitting Students with —_

experiences is a valid academic goal because diverse

experiences lead to divergent world views, which in turn

enhance the quality of debate and promote learning —

students. But they contend that pursuing “true —

diversity” without direct reference to race would equally

accomplish this goal. Grutter, 288 F.3d at 791-792 oss.

J., dissenting); see also, e.g., Cato Inst. Brief at 3-4; Ctr. na

Equal Opportunity Brief at 19-20 (Jan. 16, 2003); Ctr. for

New Black Leadership Brief at 3-5 (Jan. 15, ee

Professors Brief at 13 (Jan. 16, 2003); Mich. Ass’n

Scholars Brief at 14 (Jan. 16, 2003), United States Brie

(Grutter) at 8 (Jan. 16, 2003); United States Brief a -

10-11 (Jan. 16, 2003); cf. Grutter Brief at 44; Gratz Bn

13, 17. Petitioners and amici ignore, however, that the on

fact of being a member of a racial th realy maeesnn nc

society — standing alone — 1s itself an experience -

creates unique perspectives. As Judge Clay explained <

concurrence, an individual can only experience racial OF

be reviewed under intermediate, rather than

ee eS San in Adarand did not revisit its holding in

Metro Broadcasting that racial and ethnic diversity tends to

promote a diversity of viewpoints.

9

ethnic discrimination based on his or her race or ethnicity;

and endeavoring to include in a law school class individuals

who have actually experienced the kind of racial or ethnic

discrimination being discussed in class requires consideration

of race in admissions. Grutter, 288 F.3d at 764-765 (Clay, J.,

concurring). Indeed, Judge Boggs acknowledged as much in

his dissent. Jd. at 791 (Boggs, J., dissenting) (stating that the

minorities who are admitted “all, on average, have had some

experience with being the object of racial discrimination” and

that “[flor law students, this might bring an understanding of

the purposes behind the antidiscrimination laws that they

might study”) (emphasis in original). Thus, it is no answer, as

Judge Boggs suggests, to favor in admissions students who

attended “an under-funded public school, struggl[ed] with

relative poverty, [or spent] a childhood * * * in urban rather

-than suburban areas” (id. (Boggs, J., dissenting)); these are

insufficient proxies for the experience of being a member of

a racial or ethnic minority in America, regardless of class or

income. See id. at 764-765 (Clay, J., concurring).’

Several amici contend that exposure to a broad reading

list and to popular culture’s purportedly “ubiquitous”

message of tolerance are alternative means of achieving the

educational effects of diversity. See, e.g., Ctr. for Equal

Opportunity Brief at 20-21 (arguing that “the educational

effects of random interracial conversations” can be gained,

inter alia, from reading works by under-represented

minorities or from popular culture); Law Professors Brief at

14 (arguing that “surely a sufficiently diverse reading list

7

See also Gary Orfield, Introduction, in DIVERSITY

CHALLENGED: EVIDENCE ON THE IMPACT OF AFFIRMATIVE

ACTION 26 (Gary Orfield ed., 2001) (“DIVERSITY CHALLENGED”)

(“[MJany racial problems have a serious impact on people who are

not poor. * * * Middle-class blacks are actually more likely to

perceive discrimination in their lives than are poor blacks, perhaps

because they have more interaction with the white world.”).

10

would suffice” to instill lessons learned by interaction with

minority students) (emphasis in original), Nat’] Ass’n of

Scholars Brief (Gratz) at 17-18 (arguing that “[s]tudents can

listen to ‘multiple perspectives’ and learn to be considerate of

others with or without a racially diverse student body”). But

it is self-evident that requiring students to read works

authored by under-represented minorities, or having them

watch a movie about “the black experience” - without

actually interacting with people of color — is grossly

insufficient to expand the limited world views created by

lifetimes spent in a largely segregated world. See Pp. 19-21,

infra. \f the goal is to expand students’ understanding of and

ability to function in society as it now exists, actual

interaction with peers of different races is far superior to

merely reading or watching a movie about racial issues. For

example, a student could too easily dismiss Martin Luther

King’s writings as reflecting a different, less-enlightened

time; that same student would have a harder time dismissing

the struggles of her classmates with race and identity issues

on campus.

Importantly, it is not only in class discussions that these

crucial interactions occur. As Justice Powell noted, quoting

the comments of the then-president of Princeton University:

“<1 A] great deal of learning occurs informally ee . Guoup

interactions among students * * * of different races who

are able, directly or indirectly, to learn from their differences.

* * * For many [students] * * * , the unplanned casual

encounters with roommates, fellow sufferers in organic

chemistry class, student workers in the library, teammates on

a basketball squad, or other participants in class affairs or

student government can be subtle and yet powerful sources

of improved understanding and personal growth. Bakke,

438 U.S. at 313 n.48 (quoting Bowen, Admissions and the

Relevance of Race, supra, at 7, 9).

Petitioners’ suggestion (Grutter Brief at 16-17, 22: Gratz

Brief at 13) that the Sixth Circuit’s holding lacks support in

this Court’s precedents, save for Justice Powell’s opinion in

Bakke, also misses the mark. The Court often has recognized

that racial and ethnic academic diversity promotes vital

educational goals, and that achieving diversity through race-

conscious decisionmaking accordingly is within the

prerogative of state educational institutions. In Swann v.

Charlotte-Mecklenburg Board of Education, 402 U.S. 1

(1971), for example, the Court observed that, even absent any

constitutional violation, it would be “within the broad

discretionary powers of [elementary and secondary] school

authorities” to “conclude” as an “educational policy * * *

that in order to prepare students to live in a pluralistic society

each school should have a prescribed ratio of Negro to white

students.” /d. at 16; accord North Carolina Bd. of Educ. v.

Swann, 402 U.S. 43, 45-46 (1971). Similarly, in Washington

v. Seattle School District No. 1, 458 U.S. 457, 460, 472-474

(1982), the Court struck down a measure that would have

restricted a school district’s power to address de facto

segregation for the purpose of augmenting education. In the

course of its opinion, the Court noted that “it should be * * *

clear that white as well as Negro children benefit from

exposure to ethnic and racial diversity in the classroom.” /d.

at 472 (internal quotation marks omitted). And it concluded

that, “in the absence of a constitutional violation, the

desirability and efficacy of school desegregation are matters

to be resolved through the political process.” Jd. at 474; cf.

Sweatt v. Painter, 339 U.S. 629, 634 (1950) (recognizing the

educational value of diversity in ordering the desegregation

of a law school).

As shown below, the experience of the business world

confirms Justice Powell’s and the Sixth Circuit’s conclusion

that state academic institutions have a compelling interest in

using diversity to hone young minds and to “preparje] * * *

children [to act as] citizens[ ]” (Seattle Sch. Dist., 458 US. at

12

473 (internal quotation marks omitted)), leaders (Keyishian,

285 U.S. at 603), and professionals (Brown v. Board of

Educ., 347 U.S. 483, 493 (1954); Sweatt, 339 U.S. 634) in

our increasingly heterogeneous society. Bakke, 438 US. at

313.

B. Success In Today’s Business World Demands

Cross-Culewre! Competence And The Ability To

View Problems From Multiple Perspectives —

Skills Best Learned In Diverse Academic

Environments

The business world has learned that, just as Justice

Powell observed, “the nation’s future does indeed depend [ ]

leaders trained” in diverse academic environments.

Bakke, 438 U.S. at 313 (opinion of Powell, J.) (internal

quotation marks omitted). The capacities to work easily with

persons of other races and to view problems from multiple

perspectives are essential skills in the business world of the

twenty-first century. Indeed, the cross-cultural competence

of a business’ work force directly affects its bottom line.

Academic institutions with diverse student bodies offer the

best — and for many students, the only — opportunity to

1. To Achieve Excellence In The New, Diverse

Global Economy, Employees Of Any Race,

Culture, Or Ethnicity Must Possess Cross-

Cultural Competence :

in the racial and ethnic

ition of business work forces, customer bases, and

pools of potential business partners increasingly necessitate

that entrants into the managerial levels of the business world

persons of any race, ethnicity, or culture and to understand

views influenced by those traits. See, e.g, RAND REPORT,

supra, at 16-18, 24-27. Such cross-cultural competence

affects a business’ performance of virtually all of its major

13

tasks: (a) identifying and satisfying the needs of diverse

customers, (b) recruiting and retaining a diverse work force,

and inspiring that work force to work together to develop and

implement innovative ideas; and (c) forming and fostering

productive working relationships with business partners and

subsidiaries around the globe.®

Creating and Selling Products to a Diverse Po

Racial minorities iti i dix Wis een cee Gade on

impressive $600 billion in annual purchasing power (Expert

Report of William G. Bowen, at 14 (Dec. 9, 1998)) — a

number that is increasing exponentially with expanding

minority populations. Moreover, with the global expansion

of many businesses and the advent of internet shopping, the

customer bases of many businesses now include people from

many races and diverse cultures around the world.

Having high-level employees who possess cross-cultural

competence is essential for a business to profit from these

vast market opportunities. It is undeniable that consumers’

cultures can and often do influence their purchasing

preferences. Businesses whose employees are able to

* In light of the importance of diversity to a business’ success, it is

not surprising that many businesses have long promoted a

commitment to diversity among their ranks. General Motors, for

instance, made diversity a “core business objective” in 1995.

9

See, e.g., Taylor H. Cox, Jr. & Stacy Blake, Managing Cultural

Diversity: Implications for O ational C. a 5

ACADEMY OF MANAGEMENT EXECUTIVE No. 3, at 45, 49 (1991);

David K. Tse et al., Does Culture Matter? A Cross-Cultural Study

of Executives’ Choice, Decisiveness, and Risk Adjustment in

International Marketing, 52 JOURNAL OF MARKETING No. 4, at

81-95 (Oct. 1988); Rohit Deshpande et al., The Intensity of Ethnic

Affiliation: A Study of the Sociology of Hispanic Consumption, 13

JOURNAL OF CONSUMER RESEARCH No. 2, at 214-220 (Sept.

— S.G. Redding, Cultural Effects on the Marketing Process

Southeast Asia, 24 JOURNAL OF THE MARKET RESEARCH SOC’

No. 2, at 98-114 (1982). cual

14

identify and cater to these market preferences will prosper,

cup oon employees lack the sensitivity and domain

knowledge to meet these diverse market demands will not.

To meet the challenge, businesses require oan ah ant

employees who understand that people ame

backgrounds manifest diverse interests and who know

chon ote oe of coal

diverse populations abound. See, e.g., TAYLOR H. Cox, JR.,

CULTURAL DIVERSITY IN ORGANIZATIONS: THEORY,

RESEARCH, AND PRACTICE 30-31 (1993) (citing, among other

examples, a company’s successful development of a

cosmetics line designed for women of color and another

decreased sales. Many of the best examples of this

in

z

Hi

F

5

—_ tens oe me

15

offending them. See id at 220-221 (enumerating notable

mishaps and obstacles). .

Relationships in the Workplace. In the year 2000, more

than one-third of all new labor force entrants in the United

States were minorities. See Expert Report of Bowen, at 5:

see also FEDERAL GLASS CEILING COMM’N, A SOLID

INVESTMENT: MAKING FULL USE OF THE NATION’S HUMAN

CAPITAL 1 (1995) (Message From The Chair) (“GLASS

CEILING COMM’N REPORT”). Over the next 50 years, that

percentage is projected to exceed the percentage of

Caucasian work force entrants. See pp. 3-4, supra.

Businesses also employ citizens of other nations to staff their

Motors, for example, employs citizens of 53 different

countnes, many of whom are non-Caucasians.

The capacity of many businesses to recruit and retain

talented labor — a critical resource — therefore increasingly

will depend upon the sensitivity of their managers to

interracial and multicultural issues. “Companies with strong

will find it easier to recruit [and retain] members of those

groups.” GLASS CEILING COMM’N REPORT, supra, at 4.

Indeed, companies that manage diversity well already are

proving more successful in attracting and retaining top-

quality workers. See Taylor H. Cox, Jr. & Stacy Blake,

Managing Cultural __ Diversity: _ Implications _for

Organizational Competitiveness, 5 ACADEMY OF

MANAGEMENT EXECUTIVE No. 3, at 45, 48-49 (1991). The

need to make work environments more hospitable to non-

Caucasian workers is apparent: at present, minorities in

general experience higher turnover rates and levels of job

dissatisfaction. See, e.g., id. at 45, 46.

Managers’ and employees’ cross-cultural competence

augments not only recruiting and retention of employees, but

also work force creativity and productivity. The best ideas

16

and products are created by teams of people who can work

together without prejudice or discomfort.

Morgan, Endangered Species: New Ideas, 133 BUSINESS

MONTH No. 4, at 75-77 (1989) (cooperation and conflict

management are essential to innovation). The absence of

such obstacles is of special import in the new work

environments of cutting-edge businesses, which stress

teamwork and the free movement of ideas between people:

See, e.g., WILLIAM G. LEE, MAVERICKS IN THE WORKPLACE:

HARNESSING THE GENIUS OF AMERICAN WORKERS 4 (1998).

General Motors, for example, strives for a “walls down”

work environment to foster “idea flow” — an interactive

process of creative brainstorming unhindered by titles and

positions. Idea flow cannot be achieved across barriers of

racial and cultural discomfort or among team members who

are unable to accept diverse views.

A corporate management comprising individuals who

have never before experienced the challenges of interracial

and cross-cultural interactions that they will confront in the

workplace poses great risks to efficiency and productivity.

First, low-level unease between managers and employees of

different races, ethnicities, and cultures may impede

productivity and prevent the formation of the close working

relationships that make a business “hum.” Second, managers

unskilled in considering diverse perspectives may fail to

ee ee Ss aed

sources. Third, a lack of exposure to persons of different

races and ethnicities may result in economically inefficient,

and improper, hiring and promotion decisions, influenced by

false stereotypes rather than an objective assessment of true

merit. Such decisions not only destroy morale, but deprive

the business of the benefit of excellent workers’ untapped

potential. In a worst-case scenario, insensitivity to issues of

race or ethnicity could produce intense conflict or render a

business vulnerable to costly and disruptive discrimination

lawsuits.

Cf. Gareth ~

17

In sum, the graduates whom businesses recruit

a woman oe as the University of ‘aidiene

managers essionals will the corporate

edna 0nd Gquuien fe Gente of Qo ee

the years to come. Graduates who lack sensitivity to

Perspectives influenced by race and ethnicity will be ill-

equipped to meet the fundamental challenge of attracting,

retaining, and managing the human capital that businesses

need to survive.

Forming and Maintaining Relationships With Global

Business Parmers. Expanding global presences also mean

that businesses increasingly transact with potential

commercial partners from diverse races and cultures.

General Motors, for example, has business partners and

subsidiaries in many different countries and is constantly

seeking to expand its operations and sales throughout the

world. The company’s global business objectives thus dictate

that many of its managers and employees engage daily in

transnational, cross-cultural, and interracial contacts. Such

contacts occur at every level, from the business people to the

engineers, who must work across national lines to develop

and market the very best products.

Establishing trust across racial and cultural lines is a

serious corporate challenge for all businesses that have

international aspirations. Graduates from our Nation’s elite

academic institutions who have been immersed in cross-

cultural learning environments will be better prepared to

meet it.

2. Diversity In Academic Institutions Augments

The Skills — Cross-Cultural Competence And

Complex Thinking — That Students Need To

Help Lead Our Country's Economic Future

Abundant research has verified Justice Powell’

; s

conclusion that racial and ethnic diversity in institutions of

higher education assists students in developing the skills that,

18

as we have just explained, are so essential to their success in

the business world: (1) understanding the views of persons

from different cultures and (2) addressing issues from

multiple perspectives.

Open-mindedness and complex thinking are skills best

honed through exposure to multiple ideas and challenging

debate in an educational environment. Academics attest, and

researchers confirm, that racial and ethnic diversity enhances s

this process, elevating the level of discourse in institutions of

higher education by exposing students to a broader range of

perspectives. Students emerge from “ diverse academic

experience with greater tolerance and ability to interact with

of other cultures, far less parochial views, and more

highly developed cognitive abilities.'°

We do not undertake to catalogue the abundant research

establishing the causal relationship between academic

diversity and development of these cognitive and social skills

— a task that other amici, representing numerous

associations of university — = yoy a

note only that J Duggan ample is for

poten = that ar, rent establishes that “educational

benefits * * * flow from a racially and ethnically diverse

student body.” Gratz, 122 F. Supp.2d at 822.

10 Contrary to petitioner’s argument, the point that an education in

a diverse setting results in “benefits accruing to students after they

have graduated from college” (Gratz Brief at 41) does not

“demonstrate that there is no principle that confines the interest to

the education context” and thereby enable diversity to “become a

justification for using race to treat people differently in many

walks of life.” Jd. Rather, it simply means that diversity in

education benefits students long after their four years spent on a

college campus.

'! Professor Patricia Gurin’s research provides especially powerful

empirical support for the proposition that students who

“participated in interactions with diverse peers, were comfortable

rere oo ee ee

bal

wan? a

et ELE LOO LG CECT

19

3. Institutions Of Higher Learning Are Ideally

Equipped To Provide The Exposure To

Diversity, Development Of Cross-Cultural

Competence, And Critical Thinking Skills That

Graduates Need To Thrive In The Business

World

Businesses depend upon institutions of higher learning to

teach students the cross-cultural competence and cognitive

skills they will need to perform at a high level in the business

world. Higher education is the best, and for many students

the only, opportunity to acquire these skills.

Selective academic institutions offer a large percentage of

white students their first and last opportunity for significant

contact with persons of other races and cultures prior to

entering the working world. See Expert Report of Thomas J.

Sugrue, at 3, 22, 37-44 (Dec. 15, 1998) in Ct. App. Joint

Appendix at 2522; Gary Orfield & Dean Whitla, Diversity

and Legal Education: Student Experiences in Leading Law

Schools, in DIVERSITY CHALLENGED, supra, at 154-158 &

Tables 2-7 (50% of the white students at Harvard Law

School and University of Michigan Law School had little or

no interracial contact prior to entering college or law school).

Despite our Nation’s increasing racial diversity, historical

patterns of de facto segregation in housing, and hence, also in

primary and secondary education, persist. See Orfield &

Whitla, supra, at 155-156. For many students, then, the

college or umiversity experience presents the first

“opportunity to disrupt an insidious cycle of lifetime

segregation.” Expert Report of Patricia Gurin, at 33 (Dec.

15, 1998) in Ct. App. Joint Appendix at 2316.

and prepared to live and work in a diverse society.” Expert Report

of Patricia Gurin, at 33 (Dec. 15, 1998) in Ct. App. Joint Appendix

at 2316; see also Gary Orfield & Dean Whitla, Diversity and Legal

Education: Student Experiences in Leading Law Schools, in

DIVERSITY CHALLENGED, supra, at 143.

20

It is also the best such opportunity. Of course, —_

businesses, including General Motors, can and do provid

extensive diversity training to workers after their arrival in

the work force. But these courses are designed to /

supplement, not substitute for, training and experiences most ,

lovees should have received earlier. Should the most

pe institutions of higher education return to a state of

de facto segregation — as research indicates most will do if

the Court were to overrule Bakke and hibit them from

considering race in admissions decisions'* — businesses will

be ill-equipped to bridge the gap.

A diminution of diversity in institutions of higher

education would mean that a huge percentage of their

graduates would arrive in the workplace having grown up toe

racially and ethnically homogeneous neighborhoods :

attended racially and ethnically homogeneous schools:

environments that empirical studies show breed prejudice

and stereotypes.’ Having been “surrounded only by the

likes of themselves,”” such students are likely to hold highly

“parochial and limited perspectives. Bakke, 438 U.S. at 312

n.48 (opinion of Powell, J.) (quoting Bowen, Admissions and

the Relevance of Race, supra, at 9). They may lack the open-

mindedness of students who have had more interactions with

persons of other races.

' ay

It would be exceedingly difficult for businesses to p

catch-up — to teach college graduates basic social and

cognitive skills and values they should have acquired prior to

2 See, e.g., Expert Report of Derek Bok, at 5-6 (Dec. 15, 1998) in

vs : ; Nation’s ‘a

admissions, the representation of blacks in the ation’s prem

law schools would sink to a de minimis level — in one calculation,

0.4%).

3 See, e.g. Expert Report of Sugrue, at 44; cf. GORDON Ww.

ALLPORT, THE NATURE OF PREJUDICE 271-272 (1954).

ON EL ILE LE COR tp

21

entry into the workplace. First, businesses lack the

pedagogical resources, including faculty, of academic

institutions to provide the same training in these arenas.

Businesses are primarily commercial, not educational,

entities, incapable of replicating the safe academic

environments that foster the “robust exchange of ideas which

discovers truth out of a multitude of tongues.” Keyishian, 385

U.S. at 603 (internal quotation marks omitted). Second,

research suggests that interracial and cross-cultural contacts

diminish prejudice and promote greater understanding

primarily when they occur among individuals of equal status.

See, e.g., Walter G. Stephan & John C. Brigham, Jntergroup

Contact: Introduction, 41 J. Soc. IssuES No. 3, at 1, 2

(1985); Expert Report of Gurin, at 20. Only schools, not

businesses, offer a forum for cross-cultural contact among a

society of equals, free of hierarchy. Finally, students tend to

exhibit greater openness to such lessons at earlier stages of

their development. “Students come to universities at a

critical stage, * * * a time during which they define

themselves in relation to others and experiment with different

social roles.” Expert Report of Gurin, at 4.

Accordingly, universities, not businesses, “are [the] ideal

institutions to foster” the skills and values necessary for

participation in a heterogeneous society. See id. at 9

(emphasis omitted). See generally HARVARD UNIVERSITY,

THE PRESIDENT’S REPORT 1993-1995, at 43. As two

constitutional scholars recently observed: “If a far-flung

democratic republic as diverse — and at times divided — as

{modern} America is to survive and flourish, it must cultivate

some common spaces where citizens from every corner of

society can come together to learn how others live, how

others think, how others feel. If not in public universities,

where?” Akhil R. Amar & Neal K. Katyal, Bakke’s Fate, 43

U.C.L.A. L. Rev. 1745, 1749 (1996).

In sum, institutions of higher learning have a compelling

interest in selecting diverse student bodies: to enhance the

i 22

educational experiences of students of all races and to equip

them with the skills they need to thrive and lead our Nation

as citizens and in the new global marketplace.

Il. ELIMINATION OF AFFIRMATIVE ACTION IN

EDUCATIONAL INSTITUTIONS LIKELY

WOULD DEPRIVE BUSINESSES OF WELL

TRAINED MINORITY CANDIDATES WHO ARE

ESSENTIAL TO OUR NATION’S ECONOMIC

SUCCESS

Institutions of higher learning have a compelling interest

in considering race and ethnicity in admission decisions, not

only because diversity enhances the quality of education, but

because diversity enhances the many enterprises students will

undertake following graduation. Selective universities and

colleges serve as training grounds for and gateways to the

higher echelons of all realms of American society, including

corporate America.

Businesses hire from selective academic institutions not

only because they tend to select the students with greatest

potential, but also because they tend to prepare their students

well to perform in the top levels of the work force. Utilizing

the highest quality faculty, most effective curricula, superior

programs and facilities, and most powerful alumni and

community contacts, these universities and colleges offer

unparalleled training opportunities. Cf. Sweatt, 339 U.S. at

634. The graduating classes of these institutions therefore, to

some extent, define the pool from which future leaders and

managers of the business world will emerge. Selective

institutions of higher learning bear a special responsibility to

make admissions decisions that will not merely reward the

* As such, it is no answer that minority “students who, because of

nonpreferential policies, are not admitted to a more selective

school will assuredly be admitted elsewhere.” Ctr. for Equal

Opportunity Brief at 28.

23

past academic performance of individual students, but will

enhance our Nation’s economic future.

To accomplish that goal, academic institutions must be

permitted to continue to consider, as one factor among many

in their selection decisions, the race and ethnicity of

applicants. Absent such consideration, the evidence suggests

that the number of minorities admitted to and graduating

from these selective institutions will plummet. See p. 20

n.12, supra. Any reduction in diversity at these institutions

accordingly would reduce the diversity of the pool of

candidates from which businesses could select top corporate

managers and professionals. That, in turn, threatens to

deprive businesses of the manifold benefits of having a

critical mass of people of color and persons of different

ethnicities in their upper ranks and would strike a harmful

blow to our Nation’s economic well-being.

In this regard, it is notable that “[h]igher education, by

making up for educational inequities at early stages in life,

can be the ramp up to a level playing field — with no further

affirmative action — for the rest of one’s future.” Amar &

Katyal, supra, 43 U.C.L.A. L. Rev. at 1749. Indeed, as the

United States recognizes, “[i]f undergraduate and graduate

institutions are not open to all individuals and broadly

inclusive to our diverse national community, then the top

jobs * * * will be closed to some.” United States Brief

(Grutter) at 13. If courts prohibit institutions of higher

learning from performing this function, businesses will find it

more difficult to hire superbly trained minority candidates.

There can be little doubt that racial and ethnic diversity in

the senior leadership of the corporate world is crucial to our

Nation’s economic prospects. In a country in which

minorities will soon dominate the labor force, commensurate

diversity in the upper ranks of management is increasingly

important. A stratified work force, in which whites dominate

the highest levels of the managerial corps and minorities

24

dominate the labor corps, may foment racial divisiveness. It

also would be retrogressive, eliminating many of the

productivity gains businesses have made through intensive

efforts to eradicate discrimination and improve relations

among workers of different races.

Instead of finding that the consideration of diversity leads

to racial tension and stigmatization, as petitioner and amici

argue (e.g., Grutter Brief at 34-35; Ctr. for Equal yg

Brief at 17-19; Nat’l Ass’n of Scholars Brief (Gratz) vont

24; W. Connerly Brief at 13-15), businesses have sn so

just the opposite: valuing diversity has helped their a

line. Abundant evidence suggests that ee _

teams create better and more innovative products i

than homogeneous teams. Homogeneity often oe

to suffer from iock-step “group think. rity ~ wt

Nemeth, Differential Contributions of Majority a 7 r

Influence, 93 PSYCHOLOGICAL REVIEW No. sa at os

(1986); Sumita Raghuram & Raghu Garud, The icious

Virtuous Facets of Workforce Diversity, in ao

RESEARCH ON WorK TEAM Diversity 155, 156,

(Marian N. Ruderman et al. eds., 1996); JOHN P. —

THE DIVERSITY ee nea A nce ae

i ive companies ore

cosa ae in order to “create a marketplace whe

ideas,’ recognizing that a multiplicity of points of oy os

to be brought to bear on a problem.” ROSABETH —

KANTER, THE CHANGE MASTERS: ce segre— A.

PRODUCTIVITY IN THE AMERICAN CORPORATION 167 ( ).

In short, as GM President and CEO Jack Smith has -

“Having people of different ethnic, racial, and soc :

backgrounds in our corporation has not slowed our pursuit 0

‘excellence — it has accelerated it.” General Motors,

Workplace Diversity — The Competitive Advantage, at

http://www.gm.com/company/gmability/diversity/people/wor

kforce.html (last visited Feb. 15, 2003). The chief iy

officers of numerous Fortune 500 companies agree.

25

Robert J. Eaton, then-Chairman and CEO of Chrysler

Corporation, explained, “workforce diversity is a competitive

advantage. Our success as a global community is as

dependent on utilizing the wealth of backgrounds, skills, and

opinions that a diverse workforce offers, as it is on raw

materials, technology and processes.” EXECUTIVE COUNCIL

1998, at 10.'°

Empirical research buttresses the conclusion of these

corporate executives and industry representatives that work

force diversity is important to effective competition in

today’s market. The federal Glass Ceiling Commission, for

instance, reported that “[iJndependent research has shown

that companies that go the extra mile in hiring and promoting

minorities and women are more profitable.” GLASS CEILING

COMM’N REPORT, at 2. Other studies have reached similar

_ conclusions. See, e.g., Janine S. Hiller & Stephen P. Ferris,

Separating Myth From Reality: An Economic Analysis of

'S See also id at 34 (““We see diversity in the background and

talent of our associates as a competitive advantage and as a

commitment that is a daily responsibility.’”) (quoting M. Douglas

Ivester, then-Chairman and CEO of The Coca Cola Company);

Robert A. Rosenblatt, PG&E Wins Federal Affirmative Action

Award, L.A. TIMES, Dec. 19, 1989, at D2 (““We are convinced that

this investment in equal opportunity pays high dividends.””)

. (quoting George A. Maneatis, then-President of Pacific Gas &

Elec. Co.); Kenneth Labich, Employees Must Reflect the Diverse

World, FORTUNE, Mar. 26, 1990, at 56 (“‘Any business climate in

which broadly different individuals may succeed will be a climate

where the whole organization prospers.’”) (quoting James R.

Houghton, then-Chairman and CEO of Corning Inc.); Janine S.

Hiller & Stephen P. Ferris, Separating Myth From Reality: An

Economic Analysis of Voluntary Affirmative Action Programs, 23

MEMPHIS ST. U. L. REV. 773, 777 & n.20 (1993) (observing that it

is now commonly accepted in business circles that diversity is

“good for business”).

26

Voluntary Affirmative Action Programs, 23 MEMPHIS ST. U.

L. REV. 773, 794-795 (1993).

General Motors strongly believes that the future of

American businesses depends upon the availability of a

diverse group of well-trained graduates. Only with the

contributions of the best and brightest of every race,

ethnicity, and culture can American businesses continue to

create the world’s most innovative products, manage the

world’s most productive work forces, and expand their

operations across the globe. For the sake of the Nation’s

collective economic future, institutions of higher learning

must be permitted to continue to achieve the diversity that

enhances both the education of these individuals and the

endeavors that they will undertake as graduates.

CONCLUSION

For the reasons stated, the Court should hold that the

government has a compelling interest in achieving the

educational benefits of diversity in higher education and that

admissions parameters that are narrowly tailored to ensure a

diverse, heterogeneous student body are permissible under

the Constitution.

Respectfully submitted.

THOMAS A. GOTTSCHALK KENNETH S. GELLER

Executive Vice President Counsel of Record

& General Counsel EILEEN PENNER

FRANCIS S. JAWORSKI Mayer, Brown, Rowe & Maw

General Motors Corp. 1909 K Street, NW

M/C 482-C25-D81 Washington, DC 20006

300 Renaissance Center (202) 263-3000

P.O. Box 300

Detroit, MI 48265-3000

Counsel for General Motors

FEBRUARY 2003 Corporation |