NASHVILLE, Tenn.
A court-ordered agreement to increase racial diversity at Tennessee colleges and universities is coming to an end, although higher education officials say they will continue the diversity programs it required.
Gov. Phil Bredesen announced yesterday that the state, the federal government and the state’s higher education agencies have agreed to seek dismissal of the 1968 lawsuit after parties agreed that the state had made sufficient progress.
The agreement stems from a lawsuit filed by Rita Sanders Geier, then an instructor at historically Black Tennessee State University. She challenged the state’s “dual system” of higher education for minorities.
After one settlement failed in 1984, a federal judge approved a new one in 2001, which became the Geier Consent Decree. If the required goals were met, the litigation was to end.
“Today, I’m proud to announce that Tennessee has met the challenge set by the Geier lawsuit — to build a unitary public higher education system that truly offers equal access to all citizens,” said Bredesen. “Now, we’ll ask a judge to recognize something that we’ve long felt in our hearts … in Tennessee, the door really is open to all.”
The decree required Tennessee spend $75 million over 10 years to help public colleges and universities diversify their student bodies, faculties and staffs.
