Ward Connerly Names States That May Be His Next Targets for Bans on Affirmative-Action Preferences

by E Wayne Ross on December 18, 2006

The Chronicle: Ward Connerly Names States That May Be His Next Targets for Bans on Affirmative-Action Preferences

Ward Connerly, who played a key role in successful campaigns persuading voters in three states to prohibit the use of racial and ethnic preferences by public colleges and other state agencies, announced on Wednesday that he was looking at nine other states as potential sites for similar referenda in the fall of 2008.

Citing his most recent success, in Michigan, where 58 percent of voters last month approved an amendment to the state Constitution banning affirmative-action preferences, Mr. Connerly said he was optimistic that the days when colleges considered applicants’ race and ethnicity would soon be over. “I think that we are witnessing the end of an era,” he said.