College Track Responds to the Recent SCOTUS Ruling Striking Down Race-Conscious College Admissions

SCOTUS DECISION: PUBLIC STATEMENT

June 29, 2023

Dear College Track Community,

I write today with both a heavy heart and an incredible sense of determination. Earlier today, the Supreme Court of the United States handed down two decisions essentially dismantling and ending race-conscious admissions practices at both public and private colleges and universities nationwide. 

This is another egregious and irresponsible action by the court that opposes everything we stand for at College Track: our scholars’ autonomy in determining their futures and the ability of our alumni to successfully amplify their academic degrees within their communities. 

We know that our scholars face serious systemic barriers to their success. These decisions put another one in place, significantly moving us back in our history as a country. When colleges and universities are prevented from considering a student’s race in the admissions process, it will not only decrease options for our scholars. It will ultimately further stratify our country by race and economic status, hampering the financial, social, and professional mobility our scholars and alumni are entitled to as members of our democracy.

As damaging and disappointing as these decisions are, moments like this affirm the critical importance of our work—and mobilize us to double down. Our job now is to be even more relentless, even more unapologetic as we pursue educational equity and social justice. We aren’t giving up on our scholars, our alumni, or our belief in the importance of their lives. 

College Track is already a part of the national conversation around college access and success. We are seen and respected. And to remain a part of the national dialogue, we must follow up the conversation with action. Colleges and universities will need us now more than ever, as we continue to find higher ed partners who see what we see in our scholars. We must fully lean into the potential of our new 10-year integrated program and the ways it will strengthen what we offer to our college scholars and our alumni. 

Today’s decisions are a sobering reminder of what we’re up against. It’s also a moment to recognize our collective impact as a nation-wide College Track community doing right by our scholars and sustaining our movement toward real equity and justice.

In solidarity,

Shirley M. Collado, Ph.D.

President & CEO