Press Release  Healey-Driscoll Administration Releases Joint Statement in Response to Supreme Court Decision on Race-Based Admissions

Boston — The Healey-Driscoll Administration, along with 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 

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 

Senator Mark Montigny

Clinton Dick, General Counsel, Office of Consumer Affairs and Business Regulation 

Marty Meehan, President, University of Massachusetts 

Michael A. Elliott, President, Amherst College 

Hubert Benitez, President, American International 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. 

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