Saturday, October 23, 2004

Legal discrimination in the University's purchases?

Via this post from Discriminations, I see this article from the Charlottesville paper about a new requirement for purchases made by the University: for each purchase, a written quote must be obtained from a minority-owned or woman-owned firm. (Notwithstanding the example Cincinnati, and the reasoning of Professor Davis, Appalachian-owned firms are not included in this policy.)

"The point is to correct the state’s 'legal discrimination' against minorities and women, said Edward L. Hamm Jr., the minority agency’s director." Presumably, however, "discrimination" based on race or gender would not be "legal discrimination."

The article goes on to say "the charter-university proposal promoted by UVa, Virginia Tech and the College of William & Mary leaves some wondering what will happen to the schools’ commitment to diversity in purchasing. In exchange for less state money, the colleges would have greater control over many business functions, including procurement."

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