LANSING, Mich. — University officials say the Michigan Civil Rights Initiative, a proposal on the Nov. 7 ballot, shouldn't have a major impact on the way state colleges and universities hire faculty.

Proposal 2 would amend the state's constitution to prohibit state and local governments from granting preferential treatment based on race, sex, color, ethnicity or national origin.

Officials of Central Michigan, Oakland and Grand Valley State universities, along with Michigan State University and the University of Michigan, use affirmative action when hiring faculty and staff.

Ted Montgomery, media relations director at Oakland, said the proposal shouldn't affect the university's hiring of faculty because it has a clause that allows for the continuation of diverse hiring if federal funding to the program is at stake.

"As a federal contractor, the university is required to take affirmative action toward prospective minority and women employees," he said.

Scott Richardson, assistant vice president of human resources at Grand Valley, said even if the ballot proposal passes, the university will still analyze its faculty based on federal requirements and see where it is lacking in certain areas.

This helps the university become more aware of where it is lacking in terms of hiring minority faculty, he said.

CMU's director of media relations, Steve Smith, said the university would still seek diversity in faculty hiring.

Although CMU uses affirmative action as a factor in hiring faculty, it isn't the lone factor, Smith said.

If two equally qualified candidates applied for the same position and if one candidate were a minority and the other a non-minority, the minority would get the job, he said.

"Our basic belief at the school is that we'd like to see a diverse group of faculty and staff members," he said. "We have long been committed to providing a diverse environment."

At Oakland, Montgomery said if a position is underrepresented for minorities or women, the university uses recruitment efforts aimed at those populations to help include more of that population.

Grand Valley's Richardson said it's important to have a diverse faculty for a diverse student body.

"We do our best to announce positions and make it a diverse place for the student body," Richardson said.

Mike Boulus, executive director of the Presidents Council, State Universities of Michigan, said his group opposes the ballot initiative.

Affirmative action is part of American history, he said, and he isn't sure if it is the right time to eliminate it.

Boulus called affirmative action an extraordinary tool to fix the effects of discrimination in society.

"We don't want to roll back the progress we've made with women and people of color," he said.

Ferris State and Saginaw Valley State universities are two other state institutions that use affirmative action when hiring faculty.

The U-M Law School also uses affirmative action as part of its admissions process. The practice was upheld by a Supreme Court ruling in 2003.

Affirmative action can't be used for undergraduate admissions, however. The top court also ruled the university's process was unconstitutional.