The following message was sent to the Elizabethtown College campus community on June 29, 2023.

Today, the United States Supreme Court ruled against Affirmative Action, stating that race should not be a part of the College admissions process. The ruling comes after examining two cases of race-conscious admissions programs at Harvard University and The University of North Carolina brought against the institutions by the Students for Fair Admissions advocacy group.

This historic reversal will not change the admissions process at Elizabethtown College. We will continue to review our applicants from a holistic and equitable approach. We empathize with our Students, Faculty, and Staff of Color and remain strongly committed to increasing the representation and retention of historically marginalized groups among both our student body and our employee base.

Our priorities are focused on continuing to build a sense of belonging for all, offering support and resources, and providing equitable experiences for underrepresented students. While today’s ruling will make it much more difficult for colleges and universities to create and maintain diverse populations, we are dedicated to lessening the barriers and burdens underrepresented students face. Among financial aid and various merit scholarships offered post-acceptance to Elizabethtown College, students have the opportunity to apply for our unique Mosaic Scholarship. We take pride in our achievements to foster and create a culturally vibrant campus community that values diversity, equity, and inclusion. We continue to develop new pipeline partnerships for underrepresented students to prepare them for undergraduate programs with regional school districts, and through the work of our Strategic Plan, we are striving to achieve alignment of Faculty and Staff of Color with our Students of Color population by fall 2026.

Our institution’s founding principles of social justice, peace, and human dignity were put in place decades ago, and we take them seriously and lead with those principles at the forefront of all our decision-making.

Elizabeth A Rider
President
ElizabethtownCollege