In just a few months, the U.S. Supreme Court will rule on the legality of race-conscious admissions practices at Harvard College and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. The decision in the two cases could have a far-reaching impact on higher education.

The president of James Madison University, who played a key role as a lawyer in the University of Michigan's Supreme Court cases 20 years ago, offers insight on what college leaders should be doing as they wait for the court's final opinion.

Illustration: Martin León Barreto

Amid the tidal wave of proposals across the country that would eliminate diversity efforts at public colleges, Ohio’s Senate Bill 83 stands out.

The 39-page bill could reshape higher education in the state, with provisions that would ban many diversity initiatives, require annual faculty performance reviews, create new graduation requirements, potentially bar Chinese students from enrolling, and mandate the language colleges must include in their mission statements.

As Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis works to enact sweeping higher ed reforms in the Sunshine State, students and faculty alike are protesting legislation that would ban teaching certain topics, limit institutional authority, and undermine tenure protections.

But one group is remaining conspicuously silent: Florida’s college presidents.