Guest Editorial: Dedicated to our mission

On June 29, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that race-based admission practices at Harvard University and the University of North Carolina were unconstitutional. These rulings have created significant discussion and concern with respect to how college admission will change in the future and the impact it will have on students. Amid this change and discussion, LMU remains firmly committed to recruiting, enrolling and retaining a diverse student body. As we consider strategies and practices, LMU’s mission-based commitment to Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Access (DEIA) remains foundational to all we do within Enrollment Management and in collaboration with our partners across campus.

The work to attract a diverse class starts with outreach to students and their advisers during high school. The Supreme Court ruling does not impact our ability to continue those efforts. LMU will continue to host events for prospective students, such as our successful Black Excellence Seminar series and our fall workshops, alumni panels and community-building programs for Black, Latine and Asian Pacific Islander Desi American students. Additionally, our outreach staff is working to build new partnerships and programs to introduce LMU to a wider range of diverse students. We will lean into our mission and identity as a Catholic, Jesuit and Marymount university in the Archdiocese of Los Angeles to identify and build those ties. LMU currently has a robust pipeline of diverse students, and our efforts will make that pipeline even stronger.

One outcome of the SCOTUS decision is that the admission team will no longer have access to the student’s race or ethnicity. In reviewing files in the future, more emphasis will be placed on an applicant’s life experiences and fit with our mission. A careful analysis will ensure that individual student academic performance is evaluated within the context of the high school they attended. As an institution with academic excellence and DEIA at its core, we will select students who will contribute to, and benefit from, the LMU mission and educational experience.

LMU is blessed with some students who come from families with alumni connections to the University. Because our alumni are diverse, these students also represent a wide range of backgrounds. However, LMU does not practice legacy admission. While we celebrate that our alumni aspire to have their children or grandchildren become Lions, we do not give them any preference in the review and admission process. While this may be a factor for some institutions, it is not for LMU.

The guidance from the Biden administration has clearly indicated that our yield and retention strategies may have a focus on certain groups but cannot be exclusive. That may mean some changes in how we structure and communicate about some of our programs. However, we can still host our important yield programming focused on underrepresented student populations.

The decision is also going to impact some of our financial aid programs and strategies for new incoming classes. As we work through those plans, the overarching tenets are LMU’s mission and its unwavering commitment to DEIA.

Over the last 10 years, LMU has increased the number of underrepresented students on our campus by 38%. We are one of the most diverse Jesuit institutions in the country and among the most diverse private institutions in California. As we enter this new chapter, we may see some fluctuations as we learn to navigate this new environment. However, we are confident and committed to assuring that we will continue our progress towards DEIA. All of us in Enrollment Management look forward to working with our faculty, students, staff and alumni partners to fully realize this critical part of our institutional mission.

This is the opinion of Maureen Weatherall, Ed.D. The Loyolan accepts unsolicited submissions from students, faculty, staff and alumni. Send comments and feedback to editor@theloyolan.com. Follow @LALoyolan on Instagram, and subscribe to our weekly newsletter.