In a span of nearly four years, Raymond C. Pierce, Deputy Assistant Secretary for the Office for Civil Rights at the U.S. Department of Education, has supervised some 600 civil rights compliance reviews of school districts across the nation. His portfolio in higher education has included managing policy development on issues ranging from gender fairness in intercollegiate athletics to race-targeted scholarships to higher education desegregation.

Currently, attorneys in the Office For Civil Rights are negotiating with Ohio officials to bring the state into civil rights compliance over its support of the ailing, historically-Black Central State University in Cleveland.

The Office for Civil Rights is also pursuing a high-profile inquiry of the higher education system in Texas as a result of the state's interpretation of the Hop wood decision in the Fifth Circuit Court, which has banned the use of race as a factor in admissions at Texas public colleges and universities.

Pierce, 38, a graduate of Case Western University School of Law, spoke recently to Black Issues In Higher Education's senior writer Ronald Roach.

Can you describe your duties and responsibilities as Deputy Assistant Secretary the Office of Civil Rights in the U.S. Department of Education? Enforcement. My job is to enforce civil rights. I have twelve offices around this country that enforce civil rights, and my, job is to direct and operate them.

What are primary enforcement mechanisms at your disposal?

We'll go to an administrative law judge or refer [the case] to the Department of Justice. But most times, we always get a resolution if we don't send it to the Department of Justice...Secretary Riley has really pushed hard to resolve these cases; to work with recipients of federal funds, school districts, counties, states to see if we can't find a way to resolve these matters in a way that's productive for the students who are involved here. And, I'm proud to say that with our leadership here. we've been able to accomplish that.