To: The Wellesley College Community
From: President Paula A. Johnson
Re: Statement on Department of Education investigation of Princeton University
Date: September 24, 2020
Earlier this month, Princeton University shared a letter with its community acknowledging and expressing regret for the school’s history of systemic racism. Last week, the U.S. Department of Education announced it would be launching an investigation into whether Princeton has violated federal civil rights law.
I write to you today to let you know that more than 80 presidents from institutions across the country—including Wellesley—have come together to ask the Department of Education to abandon this investigation. I signed this letter because I believe it is imperative that institutions of higher education be able to continue the necessary work of acknowledging and confronting the racial inequality that pervades our society.
The letter states, “As presidents of colleges and universities, we, too, acknowledge the ways that racism has affected and continues to affect the country’s institutions, including our own. We stand together in recognizing the work we still need to do if we are ever ‘to perfect the union,’ and we urge the Department of Education to abandon its ill-considered investigation of Princeton University.”
I shared in my recent Welcome Back letter steps the College is taking to advance inclusive excellence and ensure that Wellesley works to empower all people to bring their authentic selves to the classroom, the residence halls, the office, and every place they intersect. This work will continue unabated and with the urgency this moment demands.
