Trustees to Examine Admissions Following SCOTUS Affirmative Action Ruling

A new ad hoc committee of University trustees has been established to examine Princeton’s admissions policies and is expected to make recommendations by May 2024, according to an Aug. 22 University announcement.

The news comes after the U.S. Supreme Court ruled earlier this summer that admissions programs that rely on racial considerations are no longer allowed. At the time, President Christopher Eisgruber ’83 said in a message to the campus community that “while today’s decision will make our work more difficult, we will work vigorously to preserve — and, indeed, grow — the diversity of our community while fully respecting the law.”

In today’s announcement, Eisgruber said the Supreme Court decision along with the effects of the pandemic and the expansion of Princeton’s student body make this “a good time to take a broader look and ensure our admissions policies in general are optimally serving the University’s mission.”

The committee’s charge is guided by two key principles: to use a merit-driven system to find students who will benefit from a Princeton education and “use that education to do good in the world,” and to “create more opportunity for students,” including those from underrepresented groups.

As part of its work, the committee will review admissions data and trends and Princeton’s current policies and strategies before making recommendations, which may include “longer-term changes.”

José Alvarez ’85, who joined the University’s Board of Trustees in July 2022, will lead the committee. He previously served as a Princeton alumni trustee from 2016 to 2020. He is a professor of business administration at the Tuck School of Business at Dartmouth College and has also been a member of the Harvard Business School faculty since 2009, according to a 2022 University announcement. His research interests include food systems, board governance, and retailing; Alvarez worked in the supermarket industry for nearly two decades before entering academia. 

In addition to Eisgruber and Alvarez, the members of the committee are: Jackson A. Artis ’20, Joshua B. Bolten ’76, Beth F. Cobert ’80, Marisa J. Demeo ’88, Janeria A. Easley *16, Blair W. Effron ’84, Lori D. Fouché ’91, Philip U. Hammarskjold ’87, Kimberly H. Johnson ’95, Carol Quillen *91, Louise S. Sams ’79, Bradford L. Smith ’81, and Melissa H. Wu ’99. Hilary A. Parker ’01, the University’s vice president and secretary, will serve the committee as secretary.