The Stipulation of Settlement
This file contains the text of the Stipulation of Settlement agreed to by all parties except the Justice department in Geier v Alexander, 593 F Supp 1263 (MD Tenn., 1984), upheld on appeal by the 6th Circuit. (Geier v Alexander, 801 F 2d 799, 1986)
Plaintiffs RITA SANDERS GEIER, et al., and Plaintiffs-Intervenors RAYMOND RICHARDSON, JR. et al., and Plaintiffs-Intervenors H. COLEMAN MCGINNIS, et al., having sought further injunctive relief to effectuate statewide desegregation of all Tennessee institutions of public higher education, and having conducted extensive negotiations with all parties to this lawsuit in an effort to bring about a joint resolution of the issues, without further litigation, that will achieve a unitary,1 desegregated system of public higher education in the State of Tennessee,
IT IS HEREBY STIPULATED by and between the undersigned, and subject to this Court's approval, as follows:
I. Introduction
A. The primary purpose of this Stipulation of Settlement is the elimination of Tennessee's dual system of higher education. This purpose includes the maximization of educational opportunities for black citizens of the State of Tennessee and he improvement of educational opportunities for black citizens of the State of Tennessee. The parties agree that access to public institutions of higher education in the State of Tennessee by black students and the degree of black presence in faculty and administrative positions statewide will not be decreased as a result of the implementation of the provisions of this Stipulation.. Its is the intention of the parties that the dismantling of the dual system shall be accomplished in such a way as to increase access for black students and increase he presence of black faculty and administrators overall and at the historically white institutions.
B. Defendants commit to continue efforts to achieve their current desegregation goals and to revision of those goals as necessary after the pertinent studies referenced herein are completed. It is the intention of the defendants through implementation of this plan to achieve desegregation of all institutions of higher education in the state.
C. Each defendant agrees to include a proposed budget for their part of any plan or program developed hereunder and to request adequate funding for each plan or program at their respective stages of the normal budgetary process to secure adequate funding from the general Assembly. Prior to finalization of this stipulation of settlement, and no later than September 15, 1984, defendants University of Tennessee (UT) and the State Board of Regents (SBR) shall submit to all parties an estimated total amount necessary to implement the plans and programs to be developed hereunder.
D. Defendants agree to begin collecting selected data in accordance with the reporting forms of the Office of Civil Rights (OCR) of the United States Department of Education, but will continue to monitor progress by means of established reporting methods in order to preserve historical comparisons. The data to be utilized will be selected by mutual agreement of all parties prior to finalization of this Stipulation of Settlement.
E. The Desegregation Monitoring Committee will establish a procedure for monitoring and reporting Progress to the Court on the desegregation of all institutions. The Committee will identify problem areas and make recommendations to the defendants concerning research and actions that should be undertaken and new programs that should be developed to address problems.
F. Progress towards desegregation at Tennessee State University shall be placed under the Desegregation Monitoring Committee and shall be monitored in the same manner as is progress in desegregation at the other institutions.
G. Each Monitoring Committee report shall include a description of specific steps taken to implement each provision in this settlement agreement. In areas where sufficient progress has not been made, the board shall include in the monitoring committee report further steps it will take to assure progress in this area.
H. Each Desegregation Monitoring Committee report shall include a listing of each presidential/chancellor, vice president/vice chancellor and dean position filled during the reporting period at each university, with the number and race of applicants for each position and the race of person selected.
I. All plans to be developed pursuant to this Stipulation of Settlement shall run for a period of five years and shall contain benchmark goals to be achieved by the end of the year.
II. Student Desegregation
A. Interim goals and methodologies for setting long range goals shall ensure the achievement of non-racially identifiable institutions of higher education in Tennessee.
B. Defendants agree that as soon as necessary data are available, and no later than one (1) year from the date of this Stipulation of Settlement, a study will be conducted to ascertain whether there is a statewide disparity in college-going rates among black and white high school graduates in Tennessee, and long-range and interim desegregation goals will be modified if necessary in an effort to eliminate any statewide disparity. Such study shall be completed no more than 180 days from the date necessary data are available.
C. Defendants will conduct a study within 180 days to ascertain whether there is a statewide disparity by race in the ratio of graduates of public institutions in Tennessee, and long-range goals and interim desegregation goals will be modified if necessary in an effort to eliminate any statewide disparity.
D. Defendants shall immediately establish a 1993 interim objective for Tennessee State University (TSU) of 50% white full-time equivalent enrollment. The parties agree that the long-range objectives for the racial composition of the students at TSU will be set on the same basis as the objectives are set at all other institutions in the state.
E. SBR commits to retain its current admissions policies at its 2-year institutions for the foreseeable future and for at least five years.
F. Defendants will provide within 90 days a statewide survey of admissions and retention requirements for 4-year public institutions. If either governing board should take any steps in the next five years to increase admissions and/or retention requirements and to establish minimum requirements statewide, the Board will:
1. Conduct a desegregation impact analysis prior to the
implementation of the new requirements, and to ascertain
whether these requirements will have an adverse impact on
black students;
2. Authorize institutions to enroll a percentage of new entering
classes under alternative admissions standards, said percentage
to be determined periodically by the appropriate governing
board and to be consistent with the objectives of this
Stipulation of Settlement. The rate of alternative admissions at
TSU shall in no event be increased beyond the rate for the
1884-85 academic year;
3. Provide for the phasing in of these new requirements;
4. Provide developmental education programs available to
students throughout the state to promote retention of those
students entering under alternative admissions standards. The
funding and standards for these programs will be developed as
needed, in accordance with the implementation of parts 1
through 3 of this paragraph II (D); and
5. Each institution, through its respective governing board, will
advise the Desegregation Monitoring Committee of the expected
impact of increased admission and/or retention standards and
will report on its desegregation goals in light of the new
standards, and also will report on alternative means of achieving
its desegregation goals.
6. SBR agrees that the admission standards at TSU will be
raised over a period of 5 years. The admission standards shall
include a minimum GPA and minimum ACT neither of which
shall be lower than those established for MTSU. TSU minimum
GPA shall increase to no less than a 2.25 over the next five
years.
G. The defendants shall conduct a study within 120 days to determine the feasibility of a plan whereby other-race2 students shall be accorded tuition discounts, loans, scholarships and/or other incentives for purposes of desegregation. These incentives will also be studied for the purpose of encouraging the retention of other-race students. The plan shall be implemented by the fall semester of 1985 if and to the extent feasible.
H. Within 180 days defendants will identify graduate programs where blacks are underrepresented; defendants will develop a scholarship program to achieve graduate desegregation goals; and universities will submit projections for increasing the number of blacks appointed as teaching and research assistants.
I. No public institution of higher education in Tennessee shall actively engage in racial discrimination or practices which discourage enrollment or involvement of other-race persons.
J. UT and SBR shall conduct a study of each of their respective institutions to determine whether any public institution of higher education in Tennessee projects an image as being racially identifiable. UT and SBR shall appoint members of a bi-racial committee to conduct this study. Each committee shall consult with a broad spectrum of residents in the service area, as well as faculty, students and administration of each institution and shall report its findings and recommendations to the appropriate governing board within 120 days. SBR and UT Boards shall implement changes necessary to create in each institution the image of an institution that serves the citizens of Tennessee on a non-racial basis.
K. Defendants will review various postsecondary developmental education programs and develop within one year a plan designed to address the retention, performance and progression of students at all public institutions.
L. SBR and UT will within 180 days review their financial aid programs to identify any inequities in the awarding of public or private financial aid and, in inequities are identified, implement appropriate measures to eliminate such disparities. The award of merit scholarships shall be reviewed to determine if they are made on any basis other than merit.
M. SBR and UT will monitor, develop and/or coordinate a statewide other-race recruiting program, utilizing biracial recruiting teams, for the institutions within their respective systems. This program shall be fully operational within 180 days from the date of this Stipulation of Settlement, and shall contain the following elements:
1. Each predominantly white institution shall utilize a black and
each predominately black institution shall utilize a white for
recruiting other-race students. By fall semester, 1985, 50% of
the recruiters used by TSU shall be white.
2. To assist the institutions in identifying prospective other-race
students, defendants shall obtain from the Educational Testing
Service and the American College Testing Program, and shall
provide to each institution each fall, a list of all Tennessee
students (by race) still enrolled in high school who took the SAT
or ACT and agreed to have their names released.
3. Each institution shall send recruitment literature to each high
school in its service area and encourage the high school to
disseminate the same to all students, with particular emphasis
given to reaching other-race students.
4. Defendants shall develop and provide to the predominantly
white institutions which have graduate and professional
programs a list of all black students expected to graduate during
that school year from public and private undergraduate
institutions in Tennessee, and who agree to have their names
released. The list shall provide the following information: name
of each student, the student's major field, grade point average,
and other relevant information. Each predominantly white
institution shall seek applications from qualified students whose
names appear on the list.
5. Defendants shall obtain and provide to all predominantly white
institutions a list of all black students enrolled in Tennessee
institutions of public higher education who take the Graduate
Record Examination (GRE) and who agree to have their names
released. Each predominantly white institution shall solicit
applications from among all qualified students whose names
appear on the list.
6. Tennessee state-supported law schools shall obtain through
the SBR and UT Governing Boards a list of black students
enrolled in Tennessee's public and private four-year institutions
who have taken the Law School Admissions Test (LSAT) and
agree to have their names released. A comparable list of black
students who have taken the Medical College Admission Test
(MCAT) and the Dental Admission Test (DAT) shall be
supplied to Tennessee's state-supported medical and dental
schools. The professional schools shall actively seek applications
from among qualified black students who take the above-named
examinations and whose names appear on the appropriate list.
N. Defendants will coordinate the development of a cooperative program to increase the number of black students who enroll in and graduate from professional programs. Every spring beginning in 1985 and for five years, 75 black sophomore students who are Tennessee residents enrolled in Tennessee public institutions will be selected by committees representing the faculties of all state-supported professional schools and all other public universities in the state for pre-enrollment in the state's schools of law, veterinary medicine, dentistry, pharmacy and medicine. There shall be representation by black faculty members on these committees, to the extent available. The professional schools will counsel these students, assist in planning their pre-professional curricula, provide summer programs at the end of their junior and senior years and agree to their admission as first year professional students if they successfully complete their undergraduate work and meet minimum admissions standards. Defendants will consult with other states that have developed similar programs (e.g., Kentucky) and complete development of the program described in this paragraph II, (I), including a proposed budget and projected source of funds, within 180 days.
III. Employment
A. Defendants will review various approaches, including effective programs in other states, to increase the number of qualified black applicants for employment in institutions of higher education in Tennessee. Defendants will implement the program(s) determined to be feasible and effective to increase the number of qualified black applicants. Defendants will actively recruit in the relevant labor market to increase the black presence, especially in disciplines where blacks are underrepresented, at the predominantly white institutions.
B. Within 180 days, SBR and UT shall develop a plan, including financial and other incentives, to attract white faculty and administrators to TSU and black faculty and administrators to predominantly white institutions. The plan shall be widely publicized at all institutions. The plan shall address credit for prior service and other benefits of any person eligible for participation in the plan, including transferring faculty members to the extent allowed by law.
C. Defendants will within 120 days identify disciplines where blacks are underrepresented and where the national pool is small, and request adequate funding through budgetary process pursuant to PI (B) above to develop a "grow your own" program, utilizing the public and private universities in Tennessee, to increase the pool of qualified black candidates for employment as faculty and administrators in the public universities.
D., SBR and UT will within 120 days request adequate funding through the budgetary process pursuant to PI (B) above to institute a staff development program, to enable black staff members to obtain advanced degrees and become eligible for positions of higher salary and higher rank within all institutions of higher education in the State of Tennessee.
E. Defendants will develop a plan for a Black Faculty Development Program, including a proposed budget therefor, within 120 days. The program will be designed to increase the number of black faculty with doctoral degrees at all public institutions of higher education.
F. SBR shall immediately establish as a five year interim objective
for the desegregation of TSU's faculty and administration at least 50% white faculty and at least 50% white upper level administrators (president, vice-presidents, deans, department chairs). All other institutions shall increase their efforts to attract and employ other-race faculty and administrators and accomplish their objectives for other-race employment by utilizing the provisions herein. After a period of five years, the defendants shall assess progress made under this plan and set further interim and/or long-range objectives for each institution as may be required to achieve a non-racially identifiable system of higher education.
G. Progress in affirmative action will be a factor in the review of department heads, deans and vice presidents/vice chancellors by institutional presidents and chancellors and in the review of presidents and chancellors by the chief executive of each system.
H. The SBR and UT must approve, prior to any offer being extended, the recommended choice of the administration at each of its universities for the positions of vice president/vice chancellor, dean and department chair, beginning immediately upon execution of this agreement. This review will take into account the following factors:
1. The credentials and qualifications of the applicant.
2. Affirmative action3 responsibilities of the institution in the
system of the Board, and the degree of achievement of
institutional desegregation goals.
3. The degree of commitment to affirmative action on the part of
the applicant.
IV. Higher Education in Middle Tennessee
A. SBR and the Tennessee Higher education Commission (THEC) agree to develop within 180 days a comprehensive plan for the enhancement of Tennessee State University (TSU), with the unique specialized regional and statewide missions, and to implement TSU's mission as the regional urban university for Middle Tennessee. Sufficient funding through the normal budgetary process will be projected in order to achieve success of the provisions of the plan.
B. To the extent that the increase in admission standards at TSU is expected to increase the quality of the student body but not have an adverse budgetary impact as a consequence of total enrollment decline, THEC will follow its existing policy of negotiating a wider range for TSU as to minimize its budgetary impact.
C. Within 120 days SBR will complete a physical facilities study for TSU that will include: a) a report of a comparative study between TSU and selected regional, predominantly white institutions throughout the State which are comparable, to identify deficiencies in TSU's physical plant and total campus environment; b) an assessment of the cost of bringing all TSU facilities up to standards for safety, health, environmental protection, and access to the handicapped; c) recommendations for changes or alterations necessary to support TSU's mission.
Within 60 days of completion of the study, SBR will complete a plan to implement necessary renovations, modifications, and new construction at TSU in accordance with the study, such implementation to be completed within five years.
D. SBR will include in the TSU physical facilities plan the total cost of implementation and the proposed source of funds (state appropriations, bond issues, federal sources, etc.). SBR commits to assuring facilities at TSU that are comparable to those at comparable predominantly white institutions and adequate for TSU's enhanced mission.
E. SBR will within 120 days convene presidents and senior academic officers at Austin Peay State University, Middle Tennessee University and TSU to a) discuss whether program duplication, especially at the post-baccalaureate levels, is a barrier to the implementation of the state's commitment to enhance TSU and b) develop a plan for the realignment of certain specified programs in order to support TSU's enhanced mission. E.g., post baccalaureate programs in education will be reviewed and, if necessary, realigned to create a master's degree in urban education at TSU.
F. During the next five years, the SBR will accord TSU first priority for all new graduate programs in the Middle Tennessee region. No doctoral programs will be proposed or approved for Middle Tennessee State University or Austin Peay State University for a five-year period. In addition, there will be no net increase of new master's level programs at either Middle Tennessee State University or Austin Peay State University during the five-year period.
G. SBR will develop at TSU within 120 days, with appropriate services of experts, needed and effective new programs to be offered at TSU. These proposed programs will be obtained prior to implementation of the programs. In exercising its responsibilities of review and approval, the THEC will give additional positive consideration to programs consistent with the aims of this plan.
H. SBR will within 180 days develop at TSU an Institute of Government, funded through the normal budgetary process, offering a degree program and courses for credit in public administration to train administrators for senior and middle level positions in state, county and local government and to conduct research. SBR will provide consultants to TSU to assist in the development of this new program and to recommend how TSU's current program in public administration could be strengthened and the kinds of new programs that should be offered.
I. Each institution in the TBR and UT system will annually make a substantial number of recruiting visits to other-race high schools.
J. SBR will match any existing or future scholarship program designed to increase white enrollment at TSU with an identical scholarship program designed to increase black enrollment at Middle Tennessee State University.
K. The governing boards or the institutions under their jurisdiction will conduct a desegregation impact analysis prior to implementing any proposals for the creation of new institutions or initiating changes in the mission of existing institutions. Defendants commit to implementing no such changes which would be inconsistent with provisions of this Stipulation of Settlement or which would adversely affect desegregation of higher education in Tennessee.
L. Defendants agree that no institution will be identified as a one-race institution or a predominantly one-race institution in any official university publication or in any public statement made in an official capacity by any administrator of that institution., Each institution mission statement shall refer to its mission as an institution committed to education of a non-racially identifiable student body.
M. The Board of Regents shall formulate a plan for the implementation of an educational "consortium" between MTSU and TSU which will require the institutions to establish a common university calendar, publish and disseminate a joint listing of all courses offered at each institution and design registration procedures whereby students at one institution may attend classes at the other for up to 30 hours of credit.
N. The SBR shall within 180 days initiate a study of all facets of administrative functions at all campuses at TSU. Faculty and students from both campuses of the institution will actively participate in this study. Specific recommendations for personnel and other changes necessary to improve the administrative function of all campuses of the university shall be made and implemented by SBR.
V. Copies of all plans and proposals required to be formulated pursuant to this stipulation shall be submitted to counsel for all parties prior to implementation. Copies of all budget requests for plans or proposals developed pursuant to this Stipulation of Settlement shall be submitted to counsel for all parties to the lawsuit by the THEC upon receipt from UT and SBR.
VI. This Stipulation of Settlement shall not prevent any plaintiff or plaintiffs-intervenor from seeking further relief if funding requested through the normal budgetary process is not provided by the legislature to implement its provisions or is not otherwise provided.
VII. If plaintiffs or any of the plaintiffs-intervenors to this lawsuit believe that any defendant or agent or employee of a defendant is not acting in good faith to implement the provisions of this Stipulation of Settlement, their counsel shall initially bring the matter to the attention of defendants' counsel in writing, with service upon counsel for all other parties, identifying the specific act or acts alleged to be inconsistent with the objectives of this Stipulation of Settlement. The parties will make every effort to resolve such disputes informally without bringing the matter before the Court. However, if efforts at informal resolution of disputes are unsuccessful, any of the plaintiffs or plaintiffs-intervenors to this lawsuit may file a motion with the Court for further injunctive relief to enforce compliance with this Stipulation of Settlement.
Upon the filing of a motion by any party the Court shall hear arguments from counsel for all parties. The Court shall set the motion(s) for hearing within 60 days.
VIII. The goals provided for in this Decree are not to be construed as quotas.
IX. Defendants do not admit that failure to achieve any goal in itself constitutes noncompliance with this Decree.
X. Defendants by agreeing to this Stipulation do not admit that they are presently in violation of any constitutional or statutory provision.
1/It is the purpose of this order to achieve a unitary desegregated system and not to achieve a merger of the existing systems of higher education in Tennessee.
2/ "Other-race or minority students" or "other-race or minority faculty" refer to white persons with respect to predominantly black institutions and to black persons with respect to predominantly white institutions.
3/ "Affirmative action": refers to efforts to increase employment of black staff and faculty or enrollment of black students at historically white institutions and enrollment of white students and employment of white staff and faculty at historically black institutions.