A Message on the Recent Supreme Court Decision
On June 29, 2023, President John E. Jones III '77, P'11, sent this message about the Supreme Court decision to the Dickinson community:
To the Dickinson community:
Today, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that colleges and universities may not consider an applicant's race when deciding to admit a student. The court's decision is extensive, and we will be reviewing it in full over the coming days.
While Dickinson will, of course, abide by the Supreme Court ruling, we remain firmly committed to a diverse Dickinson community. That diversity can take many forms and include race, religion, geography, socio-economic, gender and life experiences.
Such diversity is integral to our life-changing liberal-arts experience. Our campus is made richer by the differences in our community. Our world demands leaders who can work with people whose traditions, beliefs and practices are different from their own. Dickinson will continue to meet this challenge by cultivating a community committed to dialogue across differences, civic engagement and academic achievement.
While we cannot consider race standing alone as a factor, we will continue to work to attract students from all corners of the United States and the globe. We have built strong partnerships with community-based organizations and foundations and we will expand those opportunities.
We will redouble our efforts to increase access to a Dickinson education. We've eliminated the admissions application fee and have returned to being test optional, a position we have taken for many years. And we are investing in increasing awareness and recognition of Dickinson across the country and internationally so that more students know about the useful and transformative liberal-arts education we provide.
A Dickinson committed to diversity is stronger, more resilient and better able to prepare future global leaders. We are steadfast in our commitment to that goal.
Sincerely,
John E. Jones III '77, P'11
President
Published June 30, 2023