As many of you may be aware, in a highly anticipated ruling, the U.S. Supreme Court determined that the use of race as a factor in college admissions is unlawful. Affirmative action had been established in law for 45 years when a case called Bakke was decided by the Supreme Court in 1978.

While we will investigate the full implications of this decision and comply with any new legal requirements, our commitment to creating a welcoming and inclusive community for students, faculty, and staff with diverse backgrounds and viewpoints remains unwavering. We will continue to recruit and provide a Rensselaer education to a broad and diverse range of outstanding students, upholding the richness of the student experience and the vibrancy of our university.

This decision is a controversial moment in our history that will have far-reaching implications on higher education and on our society. I also recognize our community will have a diversity of opinions on this decision. I have talked about One Rensselaer during my first year and hope this decision represents a moment for us to come together.

In my first year as your president, you have shown me repeatedly how deeply you care for our world and for one another. Your steadfast resolve to support and embrace one another serves as an example to all of us that the challenges we face and the complex problems we hope to solve require everyone working together. Sharing and learning from each other, being enriched by differing perspectives and different cultures, and finding solutions together enables the diversity of thought necessary to ideate and discover the innovations vital to creating a better world.