Dear Gallatin colleagues,
By now you may have seen the Supreme Court’s ruling on the cases that will guide universities’ ability to use race as a factor in the admissions process. The Court ruled against Harvard and UNC's admissions processes, determining they were at odds with the Equal Protection Clause of the 14th Amendment and Title VI of the Civil Rights Act. You can read NYU’s statement.
I imagine that many of you have been anticipating this outcome with trepidation, as I have, and are only beginning to process the impact of the decision. NYU and other U.S. universities are collectively working in real time to understand the potential impact on admissions processes.
What remains certain for me is that diversity — of thought, of perspective, of lived experience — is a bedrock value for Gallatin. Gallatin aspires to be a school that welcomes all students and centers their voices and experiences in their own educations, in the classroom and beyond.
This ruling will require us to bring new levels of commitment and care to our work as educators. I write to invite each of us, as stewards of NYU Gallatin, to recognize this moment as a call to both introspection and action.
We share a collective goal of admitting and supporting a diverse student population, and graduating students who respect and celebrate differences of all kinds. I hope that we can respond to the shifting legal landscape and identify the best ways to carry this work forward.
All my best,
Victoria