Letter and review from W. Carter Younger to Raymond Hatcher

Letter and review from W. Carter Younger to Raymond Hatcher

This December 28, 1979 letter is from University of Richmond counsel W. Carter Younger to Raymond Hatcher of the U. S. Office of Civil Rights, Department of Health, Education and Welfare (HEW). The letter describes the plans of the graduate school and law school to increase minority enrollment in several different ways. Younger notes Dewey E. Dodds's letter dated September 28, 1979, which cleared the University of Richmond from a claim that it currently had discriminatory policies. Younger acknowledges that "the alleged policy against admitting blacks was abolished in 1964." Younger writes that Dodds' letter stated that affirmative action was necessary to overcome "the alleged effects of such pre Civil Rights Act policy." Younger contests the idea that the University "underutilized" minority students. Younger justifies the low minority enrollment rate at T. C. Williams School of Law by noting that private institutions are significantly more expensive than state law schools, making it improper to compare state school statistics to private school statistics. Younger offers an alternative viewpoint, cross referencing data from similarly sized private institutions to show that the University has a higher minority enrollment rate compared to similar institutions. Younger argues that Dodds' use of statistics are not taking into account the context of the University and the competitive nature of institutions of higher learning in the greater Richmond area. Younger notes that the committee for self-evaluation will meet on January 7, 1980. Included with the letter are two enclosures, reviews of the Graduate School affirmative action plan and the School of Law affirmative action plan. The Graduate School affirmative action plan begins with an assessment on why the University has lower numbers of minority students, primarily because of the presence of less expensive state schools. To combat these low numbers, the University plans to encourage applications from undergraduate schools with high proportion of minority students. The plan also reviews financial aid, recruiting "disadvantaged full-time students", and implementing non-discriminatory practices. The plan also reviews job placement, with a non-discrimination policy when connecting students to future employers. The second review is the School of Law Affirmative Action Plan. The plan discusses recruiting and admissions, starting with active recruiting from "colleges which have a high proportion of minority students" including: Virginia State University, Virginia Union University, Hampton Institute, North Carolina Agricultural and Technical, Morehouse College, Morris-Brown College, Spelman College, Clark, and Atlanta University. The plan identifies the utilization of current minority law students as a key part of their recruiting efforts. The plan discusses non-discriminatory placement within the job center, with goals to represent and include minority students. The plan also has a sample of a counseling center visit log, which corresponds to reasons for visit, service codes, and divisions.

Letter and review from W. Carter Younger to Raymond Hatcher, 28 December 1979, RG 6.2.5 Box 25 Folder 5 “U.S. Government - HEW - Civil Rights "Compliance Review" (April 1979), University Archives, Virginia Baptist Historical Society.

1979-12-28

English

UA6.2.5.25.5-19791228.pdf

Richmond (Va.)