The following statement from Rodney Priestley, dean of the Princeton Graduate School, was emailed to all Princeton graduate students today.

Dear graduate students,

I wish to bring to your attention the statement by Princeton President Eisgruber on today’s Supreme Court decision in the cases challenging Harvard’s and UNC’s race-conscious admissions practices.

I echo President Eisgruber’s disappointment in today’s opinion, and I applaud the University’s commitment to continue to vigorously pursue diversity while fully respecting the law as announced today. To effectively serve humanity through bold and transformative research and scholarship, we need the perspectives and voices of all segments of humanity. A diverse graduate student body is critical.

Our shared vision of the Graduate School is one that welcomes the most promising individuals from every part of American society and the world, empowering them to critically explore all disciplines, and enabling them to thrive in a vibrant community of scholars, mentors, colleagues, and friends. We will continue to pursue this vision. Creating an ever more inclusive Princeton is necessary to the University’s mission and, I believe, simply the right thing to do.

Sincerely,

Rodney Priestley
Dean of the Graduate School