You have /5 articles left.
Sign up for a free account or log in.
Brown University is launching a new initiative to improve student diversity, focusing on expanded recruitment and financial aid strategies to combat the effects of the Supreme Court’s 2023 ruling striking down affirmative action.
According to the plan, announced Wednesday, the admissions office will create five new regional recruitment positions, which will expand outreach to new regions and work with local high schools and community-based organizations to encourage students from underrepresented backgrounds to apply. It will also improve financial aid award matching and grow Brown’s partnership with QuestBridge, a nonprofit that helps low-income students gain admission to highly selective colleges.
Diversity among Brown’s incoming students fell significantly for the Class of 2028, the first admitted after the affirmative action ban. First-year Black and Latino enrollment dropped from 29 percent to 19 percent, while Asian American enrollment rose 4 percent.
“Brown remains committed to complying with the law while fostering a diverse and inclusive community,” college officials wrote in a message announcing the plan. “We aim to sustain the pipeline of applicants to Brown from historically underrepresented student populations … and increase Brown’s yield of admitted students from a diverse range of backgrounds.”
The plan is separate from the recommendations released by Brown’s ad hoc committee to examine admissions policies, which focus on changes to the admissions process after students apply.
Selective colleges now barred from considering race in admissions are increasingly focusing on diversifying their applicant pool and improving financial resources to boost diverse admits.
