Presidents of Iowa’s Regent universities continue to support efforts to expand diversity during a time when affirmative action in university admissions policies are under fire.

The University of Michigan recently was sued because of its admissions process which opponents claim bases an applicant’s acceptance too heavily upon their race.

The Supreme Court is scheduled to hear the affirmative action case to determine whether or not three students who applied to Michigan were unconstitutionally denied admission because they were white.

The ruling is due by June and could monumentally change the way public colleges and universities select their students.

Greg Nichols, executive director of the Iowa Board of Regents, said Iowa university presidents support the admissions procedure at the University of Michigan.

“At the board meeting last week, the presidents of the three Regent universities each made a strong statement why the policies in Michigan should be upheld,” Nichols said. “Our institutional leaders are supportive.”

Nichols said there are many guidelines in the Board of Regents Strategic Plan and Iowa Code mandate related to diversity.

“There are provisions in the Iowa Code related to enhancing cooperation among diverse groups,” Nichols said. “Diversity in faculty, staff and students is one of the key goals for all five of the institutes [in Iowa]. There’s different programs on each of the campuses to try to enhance those goals.”

However, race itself is not used in the admissions process at Iowa State, said Marc Harding, director of admissions. “Race is not a factor used in the Iowa Board of Regents period,” he said. “There is no differential treatment in the state of Iowa. Ethnicity has zero to do with getting into the system.”

Harding said the Michigan case may prove difficult to argue and many challenges lie ahead.

“It’s a contentious issue and there’s a lot of debate,” Harding said. “It’s a decisive issue, and it’s not an easy issue to debate because you’ve got race at its core.”

Harding said there is one way the high court’s ruling could be felt at Iowa State.

“The only way [Iowa State] would be affected by the case is if Michigan loses and scholarships fall under the system,” he said.

Nichols said regardless of the outcome of the case, the goal of the regents will remain the same.

“I would anticipate that diversity will continue to be a key area,” Nichols said. “However this particular court case turns out, there will still be efforts on the campuses and support of the board in ways that are deemed legal. The regents don’t perceive the outcome of this case to change the goal. It may change the methods, but it won’t change the goal.”

The Center for Individual Rights is the organization filing the suit against Michigan. According to their official Web site at www.cir-usa.org, CIR is a nonprofit public interest law firm dedicated to the defense of individual liberties. CIR carefully selects a handful of cases each year that have the greatest potential to protect individual rights.

— CNN contributed to this story