Rice, UH respond to affirmative action ruling
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Rice University vowed to remain committed to diversity after the U.S. Supreme Court struck down affirmative action in college admissions Thursday.
Why it matters: The court ruled that colleges can't explicitly consider applicants' race in admissions, forcing colleges to reimagine long-standing hallmarks of the admissions process and likely jeopardizing the representation of Black and Latino students on campuses nationwide, Axios' Erin Doherty and April Rubin report.
Driving the news: In Texas, the decision will largely impact private institutions like Rice University, as well as the University of Texas at Austin, the only public university in the state that uses affirmative action in undergraduate admissions.
- Other public universities, like the University of Houston, use the Apply Texas application, which does not consider race in undergraduate admissions.
- Of note: The UH Law Center was the only UH graduate program that considered race or ethnicity in its admissions process, but it will no longer do so, per a statement from UH.
The latest: After the SCOTUS ruling, Rice pledged to continue its efforts to shape a student body that is diverse in race, gender, ideology, ability, geography and special talents.
What they're saying: "We are more resolute than ever that every day at Rice, we will pursue and celebrate the excellence that a richly diverse student body, filled with its manifold experiences, brings to our community of scholars," university president Reginald DesRoches and provost Amy Dittmar wrote.
- "The law may change, but Rice's commitment to diversity will not."
Meanwhile, UH said in a statement that it's dedicated to "offering educational opportunities to students from a wide range of backgrounds and has successfully done so without employing race and ethnicity as a determining factor."
Zoom in: For the past few decades, Rice has had a supplemental question regarding applicants' lived experiences, which Yvonne Romero da Silva, vice president for enrollment, says will still be able to provide insight into potential students' unique perspectives — if it aligns with the university's legal counsel guidance.
- Romero da Silva tells Axios that the ruling will give the university one less piece of information about the applicant, but Rice will still have a contextual review process that contributes to a diverse student body.
By the numbers: Of the 1,200 undergraduate freshmen who enrolled at Rice in fall 2022 — a year with a record-low acceptance rate — 50% identified as white, 38% as Asian American, 19% as Hispanic or Latino, 12% as Black, and 2% as Indigenous.
- Of the 46,700 students enrolled at UH, 33% are Hispanic or Latino, 22% are Asian American, 20% are white, 11% are Black, and 9% are international students, per the fall 2022 demographics report.
Go deeper: University of Texas' response.