CGU commits to 'Diversity No Matter What' pledge despite SCOTUS affirmative action ruling
VP of Student Affairs Quamina Carter indicated that '[d]iversity enhances intellectual discourse, broadens perspectives, and prepares our scholars for this increasingly interconnected world.'
By announcing the school's signing of the NAACP's pledge, Claremont Graduate University President Len Jessup reaffirmed the school's 'belief in diversity, equity, and inclusion in all areas of university life.'
Claremont Graduate University has publicly announced its signature on the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People’s (NAACP) “Diversity No Matter What” pledge, reinforcing the school’s commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI).
“I believe it’s important for us to go on record, not only by signing the NAACP pledge but by publicly sharing our belief in diversity, equity, and inclusion in all areas of university life: enrollment, hiring, and campus culture,” CGU President Len Jessup stated in a recent press release. The statement also notes that although CGU has joined “numerous universities across the country in signing the pledge,” it is the first to “publicly announce its commitment.”
[RELATED: TASHJY: Race has become ‘the factor’ for admission to college, in many cases]
Campus Reform covered the NAACP’s decision to launch the Diversity No Matter What pledge following the Supreme Court’s ruling in July that race-based, affirmative action college admissions policies were unconstitutional.
The NAACP’s main goal of the pledge is to “ensure that higher education institutions foster environments mirroring the nation’s diversity and increase the representation of historically underrepresented students.”
“The NAACP calls on more than 1,600 U.S. public and private colleges and universities with selective admissions processes to commit to the ‘Diversity No Matter What’ pledge following the Supreme Court’s extreme decisions reversing decades of precedent on affirmative action,” the group writes.
In its press release endorsing the pledge, CGU highlighted its ongoing efforts toward increasing minority representation across its student population and staff.
“Diversity enhances intellectual discourse, broadens perspectives, and prepares our scholars for this increasingly interconnected world,” the CGU VP of Student Affairs and head of the Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Committee Quamina Carter said. “I am proud to be part of CGU’s reaffirmation to developing global citizens through transformative graduate education.”
“This is by no means a victory lap. This is a continuous process, and much remains to be done,” President Jessup also stated. “We cannot change the past—the good or the bad—but we can commit to the present and the future.”
However, CGU is among several universities that have been documented as intentionally skirting the Supreme Court’s July affirmative action ruling, which deemed the use of race as a factor in college admissions as unconstitutional.
Campus Reform has reached out to all relevant parties for comment. This article will be updated accordingly.
