A Message About Today's Supreme Court Decision

Today, the United States Supreme Court ruled to eliminate the use of race as a factor in the college admissions process. While reading the decision, my chest tightened. A feeling all too familiar.

Over the course of my career, I have gotten to know tens of thousands of students through reading their applications. They share their triumphs and failures, dreams and fears, and everything in between.

It is in these instances where my belief in education as a powerful force for positive change is affirmed. I’ve witnessed student after student changing the social trajectory of their families.

I’ve experienced it myself.

At the same time, getting to know so many students from all over the world forces me to see the growing space between well-funded schools and under-funded schools. A statistician by training, I know my sample size is large enough to identify the larger, systemic forces at play.

Overwhelmingly, schools that serve Black and Brown students are under-resourced. I can’t unsee this reality.

Today, we lost an essential tool in our tool kit by losing a defining piece of each student’s story – of each student’s identity.

Our work continues.

It’s important to understand that race is not an explicit factor in making admissions decisions at Queens University of Charlotte. It is also important to know that eliminating a check mark does not eliminate race as an element of identity. Our racial identities are a part of each of us. Walking around campus, you see a vibrant and robust tapestry of people with unique identities, each telling a distinct story.

Driven by our motto – not to be served, but to serve – we have a responsibility to combat the systemic forces that fuel inequity. As one of North Carolina’s top schools at improving the social mobility of our students, this Supreme Court ruling makes our work at Queens even more important.

We are not alone in this work. We are surrounded by industry leaders who feel just as strongly in our fight for social justice and equal opportunities as evidenced by the support garnered for the Mayor’s Racial Equity Initiative.

Despite today’s ruling, we are determined to continue our journey forward and are committed to fostering important conversations and collaborations across different world views.

Adrienne Amador Oddi
Vice President
Strategic Enrollment and Communications