University of Rochester Faculty, Staff, and Students,
Earlier today, the United States Supreme Court issued its ruling on the use of affirmative action in higher education admissions. As is often the case with decisions and dissents of this magnitude, there can be a rush to comment on what a ruling like this means for our country, for higher education, and for our collective future. We are both concerned about this decision because of the plentiful evidence from our fields of psychology and economics that there remain large racial differences in educational and economic opportunity in the United States, and the Supreme Court ruling will likely exacerbate these opportunity gaps.
While we have issued an institutional statement that reaffirms our commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion in our policies and practices, it will take time to fully review today’s decision and to consider what it means for our entire community.
As leaders of one of America’s major research universities, we both understand deeply that a decision like this has immediate and real impact on our people—our students, our faculty and staff, and our administrators. We assure you that our institution’s values of equity and belonging that we hold dear will not falter.
Many of us believe that higher education provides a pathway to greater opportunities and that our learning and working environments are greatly enhanced when we live, work, and study together with people from diverse communities, cultures, and experiences. Today, it feels like that belief is being tested like never before.
As we continue to analyze the decision, and as we engage in conversations with our friends and colleagues about what this all means, we hope you will remember that Rochester has always been a place that has valued diversity in all its forms.
And it will continue to be so.
Sincerely,
Sarah C. Mangelsdorf
President and G. Robert Witmer, Jr. University Professor
David Figlio
Provost and Gordon Fyfe Professor of Economics and Education