Smith President's Expertise Will Shape Affirmative Action Debate

Smith College President Ruth J. Simmons will participate in a public debate on affirmative action to be held at 6 p.m. Thursday, January 13, at the New York Public Library.

The debate, sponsored by Oxford University Press and the Annenberg School for Communications, will consider the topic "Is Affirmative Action an appropriate remedy for discrimination and exclusion in America?"

Arguing Yes will be Christopher Edley, Jr., of Harvard Law School, special counsel to the President for the White House Initiative on Race; arguing No will be author and syndicated columnist Nat Hentoff. Cynthia McFadden of ABC News will moderate.

Simmons is a member of the debate's advisory panel, which also includes Abigail Thernstrom of the Manhattan Institute, Albert Camarillo of Stanford University, Richard Kahlenberg of the Century Foundation, and Glenn Loury of Boston University. Panelists will participate in the debate as questioners and commentators and will help select readings on the topic that will appear in a book derived from the debate and published by Oxford.

The debate is the first in a series intended to raise the level of public discourse about important moral, political and cultural issues, such as immigration policy, welfare reform, assisted suicide and campaign finance reform. The second debate, about the death penalty, will take place next year.

January 11, 2000