ITHACA, N.Y. -- A conference titled "Affirmative Action and Higher Education in 2004 and Beyond" will take place Friday, April 23, at Cornell University.

Legal scholars, sociologists and lawyers from Cornell and other universities will look at such issues as what the Supreme Court meant in its rulings last summer when it disallowed allotting points for race in a University of Michigan undergraduate admissions case, but seemed to permit considering race as a factor in a graduate admissions case at Michigan. Since that time, admissions offices across the country have been working to comply with the law, while still pursuing racial equality and diversity in the classes they admit. The conference seeks to share some of their strategies and answer questions that have arisen since the ruling.

The conference is sponsored by the Cornell Center for the Study of Inequality and Cornell Law School. Morning sessions, from 9 a.m. to noon, take place in the Biotechnology Building, room G10. Afternoon sessions, from 2 to 5 p.m., are in the PepsiCo Auditorium, 305 Ives Hall. All sessions are free and open to the public.

Speakers and topics are as follows:

o 9:15-10 a.m. -- Deborah Malamud, professor, New York University School of Law, "Interpreting the Ruling." Followed by a discussion, 10-10:30 a.m., led by Trevor Morrison, Cornell assistant professor of law and former law clerk to Associate Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg;

o 10:45-11:30 a.m., Marvin Krislov, vice president and general counsel, University of Michigan, "Race-Based Programs After the Rulings." Followed by discussion, 11:30-noon, led by Stephen Morgan, Cornell associate professor of sociology;

o 2:15-3 p.m., Marta Tienda, professor of sociology and public affairs, Princeton University, "Colorblind Programs after the Rulings." Followed by a discussion, 3-3:30 p.m., led by Ronald Ehrenberg, the Irving M. Ives Professor of Industrial and Labor Relations and director, Cornell Higher Education Research Institute;o 3:45-4:30 p.m., Michael Heise, professor of law, Cornell Law School, "The Future of Affirmative Action." Followed by a discussion, 4:30-5 p.m., led by John Sipple, Cornell assistant professor of education.

For more information on the conference, call (607) 254-8674 or visit the Web site: http://www.inequality.com .