| This dissertation presents a dual case study analysis of the two premier law schools in the University of California system at U.C. Berkeley (Boalt Hall) and U.C. Los Angeles (UCLAW) where admission is highly selective. The study examines comparatively their admissions and recruitment strategies following the ban on affirmative action by U.C. Regents in 1995 (SP-1) and California voters in 1996 (Proposition 209). Since 1996, Boalt Hall has assumed a discretionary approach, while UCLAW has experimented with a class-based model. This thesis examines the relative efficacy of these "color-blind" admissions systems in producing racial and ethnic diversity.;The primary goal of this study is to address the question, "How have U.C. law schools attempted to maintain racial and ethnic diversity absent race-based affirmative action?" This research was designed as an explanatory case study using qualitative methods. Its main objective was to investigate the perceived causal outcomes of two alternative admissions systems---discretionary and class-based---by interviewing key policy makers at both institutions, and using underrepresented minority enrollment data as the measured outcome variable.;Considerable legal, political, and institutional pressures have been brought to bear on policy makers at both law schools which, in turn, have affected the type and quality of strategies adopted by each. Thus, another goal of this study is to address the question, "What were the key factors that shaped the differing approaches assumed by each law school?" Towards that end, it was necessary to explore the institutional and historical context within which policy makers at Boalt Hall and UCLAW interpreted SP-1 and Proposition 209.;On the broadest level, however, this study is a qualitative analysis of institutional policy making in a period of profound crisis. Since the demise of race-based affirmative action in California, the enrollment rates of underrepresented minorities at U.C. professional schools have declined sharply. Exploring alternative admissions models and recruitment strategies, and analyzing their outcomes, appear to be the only practical means for preserving racial and ethnic diversity in California's selective system of public higher education. |
