Dear NYLS Community,
On June 29, 2023, the U.S. Supreme Court departed from decades of case law that enabled colleges and universities to explicitly use race conscious admissions to help redress centuries of America’s history of racial discrimination and inequality. Like most schools, we are taking the time to properly digest in full the lengthy decision. While we will always respect the rule of law, New York Law School will never waver from using all legal means to be a leader in providing access to legal education and therefore justice.
For 132 years, we have recruited exceptionally diverse and talented groups of students, representing the full spectrum of our communities, and we have served as an engine of social mobility for thousands of students from underrepresented and marginalized backgrounds. Our status as an independent law school, serving the world’s greatest and most diverse city, gives us a unique and extraordinary duty and opportunity to advance legal education and the profession. We take this very seriously. And that is why we are deeply committed to the principles of Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Belonging, because they represent our School’s core values. Just as importantly, they are essential to the legal profession and justice.
Our School and program of legal education recognize that deep racial inequality persists in our nation. No judicial decision could erase that fact or deny the daily experiences of millions of Americans. Lawyers are needed everywhere, by everyone, in a nation built on the promise that all people possess “unalienable rights”—namely life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. I will continue to work tirelessly, in partnership with all of you, to ensure that the benefits we have long enjoyed as an inclusive and supportive community and learning environment are ones that serve as an inspiration to other schools and all those who seek a legal education.
Anthony W. Crowell
Dean and President
Professor of Law
New York Law School
Read the decisions in Students for Fair Admissions, Inc. v. University of North Carolina, and Students for Fair Admissions, Inc. v. President & Fellows of Harvard College.