The university submitted an amicus curiae brief to the court, which is preparing to consider the case of Abigail Fisher for the second time.

Bloomberg Business reports.

Harvard Aggressively Defends Affirmative Action

Harvard University waded into a Supreme Court battle over affirmative action in colleges and universities last week, with a full-throated defense of racial diversity. The university submitted an amicus curiae brief to the court, which is preparing to consider the case of Abigail Fisher for the second time. Fisher has charged that she was not admitted to the University of Texas at Austin because she is white.

“Not only does diversity powerfully transform a student’s educational experience, but the benefits also reach beyond the walls of our campus—they go to the heart of our democracy,” wrote lawyers representing Harvard. Forbidding institutions of higher education from considering race in deciding whom to admit “would represent a significant intrusion into the academic freedom of universities.”

The Fisher case could force colleges and universities to stop considering race as a factor in admissions. A decision in Fisher’s favor could affect not just public universities like UT-Austin, but any college that receives federal aid, including Harvard. The university is facing a separate lawsuit (PDF) alleging that it discriminated against Asian American applicants because of its policy of considering race in deciding whom to admit to the school.