Dear Campus Community, 

Today the Supreme Court issued a disappointing ruling which effectively outlaws the consideration of race in our holistic review of applicants for University admissions. President Sullivan has issued a statement expressing our profound dismay in this outcome, which is at odds with our mission as a Jesuit, Catholic university. As we said in an op-ed before the cases went before the Supreme Court, uniting students from all walks of life, with unique lived experiences that often intersect with race, is essential to fostering dialogue, discourse and inquiry that deepen our understanding of the world and human identities.

We will be actively conferring with our legal team and our peers in private higher education to review the scope of the ruling and how we can continue to lawfully pursue the type of diverse student body to which we have committed our campus.

Among other actions, we will build upon our outreach and partnerships with community colleges and other pipelines that help us reach all outstanding students to enrich our campus—through the Silicon Valley Power Sustainable Futures Program and the Transfer Admission Agreement with 40 colleges— as well as scholarship programs such as the Sobrato Family Scholarship Endowment for Cristo Rey High School students. It’s also why we have joined initiatives like the American Talent Initiative and the “California Private College is Possible'' initiative of the Association of Independent California Colleges and Universities. Both commit Santa Clara to increasing the percentage of outstanding underrepresented students on our campus. Recently, I updated our University community on our progress on these and other initiatives to help make Santa Clara University a diverse and inclusive community reflective of our Jesuit values.

Although there are no easy solutions to this detrimental national ruling, our efforts to achieve a diverse and inclusive university will only intensify. We will count on your commitment and support to help us accomplish our mission. Please reach out to us if you have concerns, ideas, or questions. 

Sincerely,

Julie Sullivan
President

Eva Blanco Masias
Vice President, Enrollment Management

Shá Duncan Smith
Vice President, Inclusive Excellence

Alison Benders
Vice President, Mission and Ministry