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Dean Coffin Unity Rally Comments

December 16, 2006

As dean of undergraduate admissions I am uniquely positioned to comment on the nastiness that enveloped us this week. Members of our undergraduate community were singled out for ridicule and their place in this academic community was called into question. A heated conversation about race and racism, about climate and speech, has engulfed us. The integrity of our undergraduate admission practices has been impugned. People are hurt and outraged, and rightly so. For better or worse, the nation is watching us.

In the spirit of this unity rally, let me dispel the mistruths about our admission practices; assert the relevance of affirmative action in those practices; publicly and unequivocally reaffirm the qualifications of those wrongly targeted; and provide a balm for those among us who have been made to feel that their admission to this wonderful university was tainted, compromised and called into question. In the spirit of unity and healing, I offer these reflections on the way Tufts selects its class and, most poignantly and purposefully, the role that race plays in that complicated process.

A celebration of diversity and its educational benefits is a fundamental tenet of the Tufts experience. However, the qualities we cherish in this venerable university are not found everywhere nor are they easily acquired. Diversity -- and I use this term in its broadest definition -- requires effort. It takes effort to achieve it and effort to maintain it. Like most things that are special, the constellation of people represented at Tufts is created through a thoughtful and well-choreographed plan. It doesn't just "happen."

The admission officers in Bendetson Hall, like our counterparts at other selective colleges, study a wide assortment of information as we make our decisions. And remember that we render these decisions in a highly competitive environment in which the number of qualified applicants far exceeds the available seats in each class. The process is labor intensive, subjective and complicated. It is rational but it evokes strong emotions. It is more art than science. Last year, for example, 15,294 students sought one of the 1,275 seats in the Class of 2010. Among those applicants, our review of academic credentials indicated nearly 75 percent were "qualified" for admission. And when I say "qualified" I mean the applicants presented the appropriate grades, test scores, writing samples and teacher comments to suggest they had the ability to successfully navigate our writing intensive, discussion-based curriculum. We offered admission to 27 percent as we shaped the freshman class.

Each year, my colleagues and I assess a range of merit to incorporate depth and breath and perspective to each new class. We map out an intentional community, and we populate it with a broad range of backgrounds, interests, outlooks and experiences. Academic achievement and intellectual capacity, to be sure, are the most important considerations we weigh but talent, character, diversity and leadership are assessed and valued in this equation, too. In other words, merit takes many forms; the exact rationale that informs each admission decision is not always transparent outside the walls of Bendetson Hall.

My fellow admission officers strive to create a balanced and representative class that honors many institutional goals. We want to enroll more female engineers in Anderson Hall as well as musicians who will perform in our new facility. The University fields 33 varsity teams, and we must repopulate those teams with new Jumbos each year. Our community values diversity of opinion and background, and we ask questions on our application to tease out these points of distinction. In a nation so bitterly divided between "red" and "blue" we hope to see underrepresented beliefs and groups represented on our "purple" campus; we hope to engender civil discourse so we might learn from one another and grow. To me, such discourse is an essential prerequisite for active citizenship, and it is certainly an essential hallmark of any high quality liberal education. As such, it is a clear priority on this Hill.

These objectives -- and many others -- push and pull our admissions process in many directions. Admission outcomes are not predictable but they are rational. As such, no one at Tufts should ever question their right to be here. Indeed, in an academic community such as ours the right to free speech does not include a right to judge the admissibility of one's peers. With a surplus of talent in our applicant pool -- in every way that term might be defined -- Tufts has the privilege to craft a class that reflects its institutional mission and values. Intellectual curiosity, geography, socioeconomic status, gender, athleticism, race, religion, sexual orientation, artistry, political views and ethnicity, or combinations of these attributes and many others, come into play. These characteristics add texture and relevance to our undergraduate community, especially one founded in 1852 to educate "all the people."

And remember this essential point. In a competitive admission environment like Tufts' -- where 12 students apply for each seat in our freshman class -- every admission decision is an affirmative action. Perhaps I parse words. But as we construct this intentional community of scholarship, the invitation to join it -- and it is an invitation, not a birthright -- is very much an affirmative action. Each one of you -- nearly 5,000 people from all walks of life across this planet -- met a very high academic standard. In your own way, you each earned your place in this student body. You were evaluated and selected, one by one, based upon your individual merits and the collective attributes we hoped to establish at the university. Valedictorians and legacies; all-star athletes and slam poets; liberals, conservatives and the politically neutral; engineers and art historians all passed the same test. And when I personally signed your offer of admission, Tufts affirmed your merit with an action of admission. The reasons were varied but the intentionality was no less deliberate. Excellence was your common denominator.

In this equation, race is one of many important considerations that shape our work in Bendetson Hall. People disagree on the public policy merits of affirmative action but, in 2006, such practices are legal, germane and legitimate, as the Supreme Court ruled in its 2003 decision concerning admission practices at the University of Michigan. At Tufts, race is one factor among many compelling institutional interests. In accordance with the adjudicated law of the United States of America, it is never the only factor, no more than a recruited athlete or an alumni child would be accepted to Tufts on that basis alone.

And let me be exceedingly clear on another key point: our uncompromised interest in creating a racially-diverse class does not lower the standard of admission for anyone. Furthermore, the insinuation that members of our community were categorically accepted with "Fs, Ds and Gs" is mean-spirited, hateful and deeply offensive. As the one individual at Tufts who personally reviews the file of every student offered admission to the freshman class, I reject it as a false assertion. It insults the founding principles of the Universalists; it insults Tufts' commitment to access and pluralism; it insults the African-American freshmen who rightfully earned admission to this university; it insults their parents; it insults their high school teachers in communities across this country; it insults the faculty, staff and students who are their teachers and peers; and it insults the integrity of our admission process and the admission officers who invited these student to join our community.

Finally, and most importantly, let me speak directly to those among us whose presence in our community was questioned last week. You are understandably hurt, I hope not irreparably, and I appreciate your heartfelt desire for a more assertive response from the Administration. Let me offer one, and let me be as clear and direct as I can be: You earned your admission to Tufts. You deserve your place in this student body. You are safe here, and you are welcome here, and you are valued here as full members of this undergraduate community. Do not doubt that, ever. As I wrote to one freshman this week, do not misconstrue the malicious, racist words of a small group of students as truth. Tufts is a community that embraces diversity and inclusiveness, and that community includes each of you.

And to African-American members of the Class of 2010, specifically, who bore the brunt of those ugly words of ridicule and their pernicious insinuations, please know that your number is smaller than anticipated but your merit and promise are in no way compromised by that fact. Your pain is shared by all of us. The words of hate you experienced last week do not reflect the Tufts I know and love, and I am certainly not alone in that conviction.

As the dean of undergraduate admissions, and as a member of the Tufts Administration, I am proud that you are here. You belong here. You deserve to be here. This is your home. Remember that. Maintain your focus, your pride and your dignity. Hold your heads up high, my friends. This is your university and we stand with you.