As the Supreme Court on Thursday ruled the use of race in college admissions was unconstitutional, officials at western Massachusetts colleges and universities reacted with disappointment — as well as confidence that they could continue to diversify their campuses.
A majority of the court ruled that Harvard and the University of North Carolina had violated the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment by considering race as one of many factors in their admissions processes.
"Many universities have for too long wrongly concluded that the touchstone of an individual’s identity is not challenges bested, skills built, or lessons learned, but the color of their skin," Chief Justice John Roberts wrote. "This Nation’s constitutional history does not tolerate that choice."
Matt McGann, dean of admission and financial aid at Amherst College, said the ruling runs contrary to what the school is trying to foster.
"We strongly believe that a student body with diverse perspectives, backgrounds and experiences is really important to the liberal arts education that we provide," McGann said.
McGann, who was in attendance when the court heard oral arguments in the case last fall, said Amherst will be in full compliance with the law. He said the college's lawyers are still figuring out what the decision will mean for the admissions process.
In its ruling, the court said colleges and universities could still consider an applicant's discussion of how race has impacted his or her life.
Nefertiti Walker, the chief diversity officer at UMass Amherst, said she reacted positively to that line in the ruling. And she said the university is very well situated to deal with the repercussions of the overall decision.
"We've done so much work to ensure that we're recruiting from a very diverse base of people across the commonwealth," she said. "And beyond that, we can feel confident in our processes at the admissions level to be able to continue to recruit a diverse student body regardless of the ruling that has been made."
Walker said the university has partnered with a growing number of Massachusetts high schools and community groups to build a more diverse applicant pool.
Smith College's outgoing and incoming presidents responded to the ruling with a joint statement.
"We will comply with the Court’s decision. At the same time, the college will continue to work to ensure that our student body remains diverse," Kathleen McCartney and Sarah Willie-LeBreton wrote.
After the decision came out, Gov. Maura Healey's office released a statement signed by more than 100 Massachusetts institutions of higher education, advocacy groups and elected officials.
While the ruling was disappointing, they said, it will not change their commitment to students historically underrepresented in higher education.
"Massachusetts will always be welcoming and inclusive of students of color and students historically underrepresented in higher education," the statement said. "Today’s Supreme Court decision overturns decades of settled law. In the Commonwealth, our values and our commitment to progress and continued representation in education remain unshakable."
