OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — A conservative think-tank has released a study suggesting the University of Oklahoma gave preferences to African Americans in admissions to its undergraduate, law and medical schools — a claim university officials dispute.
The Virginia-based Center for Equal Opportunity study was released Monday — two weeks before Oklahoma voters are set to decide a state question on whether to abolish all affirmative action programs in state government.
The study analyzed students admitted to OU's law school in 2005 and 2006 and undergraduate programs from 2005 to 2007. The medical school data was from the 1990s.
OU spokeswoman Catherine Bishop says it's "unfortunate" the university was not invited to participate in the study and that the university does not use race as a criteria for admissions to any of its programs.