On June 29, 2023, the U.S. Supreme Court issued an opinion deciding two cases involving race-conscious college admissions: Students for Fair Admissions V. Harvard and Students for Fair Admissions v. University of North Carolina.
William & Mary is taking time thoughtfully to review the opinion and understand if there are implications to the university’s comprehensive selection process. We also anticipate guidance from the U.S. Department of Education and Virginia state agencies in the coming weeks.
Statement from W&M President Katherine A. Rowe
Building a vibrant community centered on William & Mary’s core values of Belonging and Excellence is essential to the university’s ability to fulfill its mission. We embrace the sentiment first recorded in the 1949 Student Handbook that “Who comes here belongs here. This is the first tradition.” Those words reflect our belief that William & Mary should be a place where everyone who comes has the opportunity to flourish and achieve at the highest level.
This week, we are asked to consider again, how students are recruited and who comes here. Within the law, William & Mary will remain intentional about recruiting the best and brightest students from a broad spectrum of backgrounds and experiences. We will ensure that William & Mary continues to be a place where great minds and hearts find great opportunities to learn, grow and contribute.
A diverse, inclusive community of learning and research is essential to William & Mary, to the Commonwealth, and to the world. The data are clear. By uniting insightful people from different nations, backgrounds, identities, and perspectives, we sharpen our thinking and deepen our curiosity. We find new, workable solutions to age-old problems – quickly and with greater sophistication – and we learn more about ourselves along the way. We come to appreciate different ways of knowing and being in the world and their positive impact on teaching, learning and research.
To our campus, our community, and any person aspiring to join us: you belong.
– Katherine A. Rowe