Supreme Court's Ruling on Affirmative Action

Dear Thayer community,

I am writing to follow up on President Beilock's earlier message to the Dartmouth community regarding the US Supreme Court's decision to impose significant limits on how race may be considered in university admissions. While it will take time to fully understand how this ruling will impact Thayer, I want to affirm our unequivocal commitment to building a diverse and inclusive engineering community and to the values and vision that guide our work.

As dean, I have long held steadfast that diversity plays an indispensable role in Thayer's capacity for engineering innovation, and that in our increasingly interconnected world, our students and faculty must reflect the rich complexity of the lives we aim to improve.

At Thayer, we know firsthand how diversity strengthens and expands our problem-solving skills. Our differences—be it our gender, race, ethnic backgrounds, lived experiences, or beliefs—equip us with new perspectives, enhance our creativity, and help us anticipate unforeseen consequences that make us better engineers. And, research has shown us time and time again, how the lack of diversity hinders progress and scientific innovation.

For these reasons, we have worked purposefully and strategically over the years to attract talented students, who strengthen our research and scholarship and reflect the evolving demographics of our country. And, for these reasons, diversity, equity, and inclusion will remain one of our top strategic priorities—because a more diverse, equitable, and inclusive Thayer benefits not only individuals within our community, but, ultimately, engineering as a whole.

In the days ahead, we will work closely with partners across Dartmouth to map out the implications of the Supreme Court's ruling and develop a plan for how Thayer can comply with the new legal framework, while staying faithful to our core values. I recognize these conversations will not be easy, but I have every confidence that we will approach this work as human-centered engineers and dedicate ourselves to finding a path forward that remains true to our core values and supports our commitment to making impact that matters.

Sincerely,

Alexis Abramson
Dean, Thayer School of Engineering at Dartmouth