Healey-Driscoll Administration Releases Joint Statement in Response to Supreme Court Decision on Race-Based Admissions
BOSTON – The Healey-Driscoll Administration, along with over 100 Massachusetts institutions of higher education leaders, civil rights advocates, other elected officials, and organizations dedicated to equity issued the following statement today regarding the United States Supreme Court’s decision in two higher education admissions cases Students for Fair Admissions Inc. v. President & Fellows of Harvard College, and Students for Fair Admissions Inc. v. University of North Carolina:
“Massachusetts will always be welcoming and inclusive of students of color and students historically underrepresented in higher education. 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.
We will continue to break down barriers to higher education so that all students see themselves represented in both our public and private campus communities. Massachusetts, the home of the first public school and first university, will lead the way in championing access, equity, and inclusion in education.
We want to make sure that students of color, LGBTQ+ students, first generation students, and all students historically underrepresented in higher education feel welcomed and valued at our colleges and universities. Today’s decision, while disappointing, will not change our commitment to these students. We have an imperative to make sure our schools reflect our communities. Our academic competitiveness, the future of our workforce, and our commitment to equity demand we take action.”
Governor Maura Healey
Lt. Governor Kim Driscoll
Secretary of Education Patrick Tutwiler
Commissioner Noe Ortega, Department of Higher Education
Commissioner Jeffrey C. Riley, Department of Elementary and Secondary Education
Commissioner Amy Kershaw, Department of Early Education and Care
Attorney General Andrea Joy Campbell
Senate President Karen E. Spilka
Speaker of the House Ronald J. Mariano
Representative Bud L. Williams, Chair, Massachusetts Black and Latino Legislative Caucus
Senator Jo Comerford, Chair, Joint Committee on Higher Education
Representative David M. Rogers, Chair, Joint Committee on Higher Education
Senator Jason M. Lewis, Chair, Joint Committee on Education
Representative Denise C. Garlick, Chair, Joint Committee on Education
Clinton Dick, General Counsel, Office of Consumer Affairs and Business Regulation
Marty Meehan, President, University of Massachusetts
Michael A. Elliott, President, Amherst College
Mary Lou Retelle, President, Anna Maria College
Stephen Spinelli Jr., President, Babson College
Sandra J. Doran, President, Bay Path University
E. LaBrent Crite, President, Bentley University
Robert A. Brown, President, Boston University
Ronald D. Liebowitz, President, Brandeis University
David Fithian, President, Clark University
Vincent D. Rougeau, President, College of the Holy Cross
Diane Tucker, President, Curry College
Kenneth Elmore, President, Dean College
Harry E. Dumay, President, Elms College
Jay M. Bernhardt, President, Emerson College
Mary K. Boyd, President, Emmanuel College
Steven R. DiSalvo, President, Endicott College
Edward Wingenbach, President, Hampshire College
Lily Hsu, President, Labouré College of Healthcare
Michael B. Alexander, President, Lasell University
Janet Steinmayer, President, Lesley University
Paula Milone-Nuzzo, President, MGH Institute of Health Professions
Beverly Daniel Tatum, President, Mount Holyoke College
Howard Purcell, President, New England College of Optometry
Andrea Kalyn, President, New England Conservatory of Music
Joseph E. Aoun, President, Northeastern University
Gilda A. Barabino, President, Olin College of Engineering
Antoinette Hays, President, Regis College
Lynn Wooten, President, Simmons University
Kathleen McCartney, President, Smith College
Mary-Beth Cooper, President, Springfield College
Marisa J. Kelly, President, Suffolk University
Anthony P. Monaco, President, Tufts University
Clea Andreadis, President, Urban College of Boston
Paula Johnson, President, Wellesley College
Mark A. Thompson, President, Wentworth Institute of Technology
Robert E. Johnson, President, Western New England University
Michaele Whelan, President, Wheaton College
Maud Mandel, President, Williams College
Nicholas A. Covino, President, William James College
Grace J. Wang, President, Worcester Polytechnic Institute
Ellen L. Kennedy, President, Berkshire Community College
Laura L. Douglas, President, Bristol Community College
Pam Eddinger, President, Bunker Hill Community College
John L. Cox, President, Cape Cod Community College
Michelle Schutt, President, Greenfield Community College
Christina Royal, President, Holyoke Community College
Ray DiPasquale, President, Massasoit Community College
David Podell, President, MassBay Community College
Philip J. Sisson, President, Middlesex Community College
James Vander Hooven, President, Mount Wachusett Community College
William Heineman, President, North Shore Community College
Lane A. Glenn, President, Northern Essex Community College
Luis Pedraja, President, Quinsigamond Community College
Jackie Jenkins-Scott, President, Roxbury Community College
John B. Cook, President, Springfield Technical Community College
Frederick W. Clark, President, Bridgewater State University
Richard S. Lapidus, President, Fitchburg State University
Nancy S. Niemi, President, Framingham State University
Mary K. Grant, President, Massachusetts College of Art and Design
James F. Birge, President, Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts
Francis X. McDonald, President, Massachusetts Maritime Academy
John D. Keenan Salem State University
Linda Thompson, President, Westfield State University
Barry M. Maloney, President, Worcester State University
Aisha Francis, President and CEO, Benjamin Franklin Cummings Institute of Technology
Mary K. Boyd, President, Emanuel College
Robert J. McCarron, President & CEO, Association of Independent Colleges and Universities in Massachusetts
Tanisha M. Sullivan, President, NAACP Boston
Traci Griffith, Racial Justice Program Director, ACLU of Massachusetts
Suzanne Lee, Affiliated with Massachusetts Asian American Educators Association and Chinese Progressive Association
Max Page and Deb McCarthy, President and Vice President, Massachusetts Teachers Association
Beth Kontos, President, AFT Massachusetts
Jessica Tang, President, Boston Teachers Union
Steven Tolman, President, Massachusetts AFL–CIO
Rahsaan D. Hall, President and CEO, Urban League of Eastern Massachusetts
Yvette M. Frisby, Interim President & CEO, Urban League of Springfield, Inc.
Aaron Polansky, Superintendent-Director, Old Colony Regional Vocational Technical
Amanda Fernandez, CEO, Latinos for Education
Mindy Wright, Founder and Executive Director, Upward Project
Bahar Akman Imboden, Managing Director, Hildreth Institute
Amanda Hillman Seider, Executive Director, OneGoal
Genesis Carela, State Policy Associate for Massachusetts, The Education Trust
Femi Stoltz, Massachusetts Policy Director, uAspire
Ginette Saimprevil, Executive Director, Bottom Line
Gregory Chery, Executive Director, Minds Matter
Derrick Young Jr., Co-Founder and Executive Director, Leadership Brainery
Tyra Anderson-Montina, Chief Program Officer, Thrive Scholars
Angel Garcia, Student Representative, Northshore Community College
Yanelis Ortiz Aquino, Student Representative, Salem State University
Joseph Bonilla, Student Representative, Westfield State University
Taylor Hope, Student Representative, MCLA
Ahead of the decision, the Healey-Driscoll Administration formed an Advisory Council to Advance Representation in Education to foster critical cross-sector communication to break down barriers to higher education in the wake of the Supreme Court’s decision, while expanding college and career readiness tools to ensure current Massachusetts students of all backgrounds with the support they need to seek out the high-quality college and career opportunities they deserve.
