Justice Deferred: Higher Education Institutional Agents’ Sensemaking in the Wake of Affirmative Action’s Demise

This project investigates how Higher Education Institutional Agents (HEIAs)—college and university administrators such as presidents, vice presidents, admissions officers, and multicultural affairs staff—are making sense of and responding to this rapidly shifting legal and political landscape. HEIAs play a critical role in shaping equitable access and success for historically marginalized students, yet face mounting constraints and uncertainty in a post-affirmative action era.