Dozens of Massachusetts college presidents call Supreme Court affirmative action ruling 'disappointing'

BOSTON - Presidents of dozens of colleges in Massachusetts called the Supreme Court's decision to end affirmative action Thursday "disappointing."

Governor Maura Healey issued a joint statement with the leaders of UMass, Boston University, Tufts and many other college presidents expressing their frustration with the ruling that rejects the use of race as a factor in college admissions.

"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," they wrote.

"Today's decision, while disappointing, will not change our commitment to these students."

UMass President Marty Meehan and the chancellors of the five UMass campuses said they are now trying "to assess how the University's admissions processes may be influenced by these changes to the law."

The Supreme Court ruled that race-conscious admission policies of Harvard and the University of North Carolina violate the Constitution. Harvard's president was not among the state leaders who signed Healey's statement. University president Lawrence Bacow issued his own statement on the ruling.

Here is the list of those who did:

Governor Maura T. 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

Senator Marc R. Pacheco, Dean of the Massachusetts State Senate

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

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

Aisha Francis, President and CEO, Benjamin Franklin Cummings Institute of Technology

Robert A. Brown, President, Boston 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, Emanuel 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

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  

In:
• Affirmative Action
• Education