Six faculty members from Berkeley’s Graduate School of Education and at least seven GSE graduate students are among more than 800 signatories to an amicus brief filed by social scientists in a legal case under consideration by the U.S. Supreme Court, asking that colleges be able to consider race as a factor in student admissions.

Meanwhile, University of California President Janet Napolitano and the 10 UC chancellors also submitted a brief on the case. Napolitano said that “race-blind admissions have curbed our ability to fully engage the learning potential found among this state’s diverse population. We are committed to serving California’s educational needs. Ensuring campuses enable meaningful interactions among students of different backgrounds is key to this mission.”

The court will hear oral arguments in the case involving the University of Texas on Dec. 9, and will rule on it before the next academic year.

Berkeley professors who signed the brief for the UCLA-based Civil Rights Project include Michael Dumas, Kris Gutiérrez, Zeus Leonardo, Daniel Perlstein, Janelle Scott and Tina Trujillo.