President’s speeches, letters, and articles
Subject: Race in admissions at the Supreme Court
May 22, 2023
Dear Reed Community,
In June, the Supreme Court is expected to release its decision in a pair of cases challenging the use of race in college and university admissions. The outcomes of these cases are expected to have a significant effect on racial diversity and belonging at colleges and universities across the country.
The consideration of race in college admissions has been an ongoing matter of debate in the United States since the first Supreme Court ruling on it in 1978 in the Bakke case. This case ruled that quotas for racial minorities violated the U.S. Constitution, but that affirmative action could be used as a factor in admissions decisions. Since then, race-conscious admission practices have been challenged in front of the Supreme Court four times, most recently in 2016.
For these two most recent cases, Reed College joined an amicus brief along with a number of other liberal arts colleges in affirming our support for observing race within a holistic admission process. In that brief, we wrote:
“Studies consistently show that diversity—including racial diversity—meaningfully improves learning experiences, complex thinking, and non-cognitive abilities. Diversity also generates pedagogical innovations and decreases prejudice . . .”
During the last decade, Reed’s student body has been its most ethnically diverse. As we await specifics of the Supreme Court ruling, we are carefully examining Reed’s practices to provide inclusive support for our students while remaining in compliance with any new legal guidelines.
When the Supreme Court issues its decision, we will follow up with more information about how the ruling may impact Reed’s path to create the most multiracial, multicultural, intellectual college in the world.
In solidarity,
Audrey Bilger,
President
Milyon Trulove,
Vice President and Dean of Admission & Financial Aid