Dear Students,
Thursday’s decision by the Supreme Court to end affirmative action in college admissions was significant news for higher education. Some of you may be wondering, how will this impact Nebraska Wesleyan University? The decision has no direct impact on Nebraska Wesleyan’s admission or scholarship policies. This is because we have had great success accepting a diverse pool of applicants using a holistic method of evaluating applicants without using race as a criterion. This will, however, have a dramatic effect on a number of colleges and universities and cause a significant, negative impact on millions of students from historically marginalized groups.
Our student body includes 20% who are students of color. This compares to 22.5% of people of color in the state of Nebraska. Currently, our incoming first-year class has approximately 28% students of color.
The Supreme Court’s decision will primarily impact the very highly selective liberal arts colleges and those flagship public universities that have significant constraints on the number of students they accept.
We know some of you have found the Supreme Court’s ruling painful, and we stand alongside of you. Quoting Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson, “…deeming race irrelevant in law does not make it so in life…”
We embrace a holistic admissions process at Nebraska Wesleyan and have made great progress in increasing the number of underrepresented students who are admitted and ultimately enroll here. For example, our Access Scholarship, which provides significant financial assistance to first-time, first-year students who qualify for the federal Pell Grant, has made a Nebraska Wesleyan education more accessible to low-income students no matter their race.
I cannot overstate how diversity is an essential part of the Nebraska Wesleyan experience — or any college’s experience. Research has repeatedly proven that a diverse campus community has a demonstrable benefit to the student experience and learning outcomes. I often share my personal story of growing up in a very homogenous town in Illinois. My college experience at a school very similar to NWU had a profound impact on how I learned to confront my own biases and develop greater sensitivity and empathy for those different than me. Exposure to diverse perspectives, identities and cultures is critical at Nebraska Wesleyan as we prepare each of you - our students - to graduate and enter the workforce where you will undoubtedly face a multitude of diverse people and experiences.
I am proud of our intentional work to recruit, enroll, support and graduate students of all backgrounds and identities, and we will remain committed to ensuring that Nebraska Wesleyan University is an accessible and welcoming community. Our community will be one that engages in courageous dialogue across differences. We will continue to do so with civility, openness, and empathy.
Sincerely,
President Good