The book "Equity and Excellence in American Higher Education," published at the University, recently received the 2006 Outstanding Book Award from the American Education Research Association.
The book was based on a series of lectures given by William Bowen in 2004 presented at the annual Thomas Jefferson Memorial Foundation Distinguished Lecture Series, according to Education School Dean David Breneman.
Breneman explained that in 2004, the Education School was asked to provide a speaker for the lecture series and he suggested William Bowen.
Bowen "had published over the years a great many articles and books on higher education ... and was at a point in his career in which I thought he would make a good point of summing up his lectures," Breneman said.
Instead Bowen, along with his colleagues, presented entirely new data that had never been published, Breneman added.
In April 2005, the lectures were compiled and published here at the University, and since then have become widely known and very influential, he said.
"Bowen's argument was that any student who came from an economically disadvantaged background ought to be given a little extra edge," Breneman said.
The book attempts to demonstrate how students from underprivileged families are worthy of a place in the applicant pool of prestigious universities and need more attention, Breneman added.
Eugene Tobin, co-author of the book, explained that "one of the arguments we make is that the most selective colleges and universities, both public and private, currently look at underrepresented minorities, legacies, recruited athletes and early admission and early decision [applicants]. What we suggest is that those preferences need to be reconsidered, especially for recruited athletes and legacies."
Breneman praised the book and its efforts to convince these institutions to take a closer look at applicants from lower socioeconomic backgrounds.
The book is especially directed at the higher education community, Tobin said.
"As a complement to race sensitive admissions, higher institutions ought to look much more closely at their recruitment and admission of students from low socioeconomic backgrounds ... and to consider that race and class are mutually reinforcing elements in crafting an incoming class of [qualified] students," he said.
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