Brown sees drop in percentage of Black students post affirmative action ruling
by: Leah Crowley
PROVIDENCE, R.I. (WPRI) — Brown University has welcomed its first class of students since the U.S. Supreme Court ruled to prohibit the consideration of race in the admissions process.
The university said that, among its 1,725 first-year students, 18% have come from groups underrepresented in higher education, which is a 27% decline from last year.
“Even with a significant number of measures in place to ensure a diverse, talented applicant pool and enrolled class, we recognized the likelihood that declines in the number of students of color at Brown and other selective universities were widely anticipated across the country,” said Logan Powell, associate provost for enrollment and dean of undergraduate admission.
Brown said the university expected the declines after watching what happened in states like California and Michigan, which both eliminated the consideration of race in the admissions process years before the Supreme Court’s ruling.
In its breakdown of the class of 2028’s racial diversity, Brown said the percentage of every group dropped except for Asian students, which increased from 29% in 2023 to 33% in 2024. The percentage of Black students changed the most, falling from 15% in 2023 to 9% in 2024.
The percentage of students who chose not to report their race or ethnicity rose from 4% in 2023 to 7% in 2024, he added.
“Expanding race-neutral strategies to encourage outstanding and increasingly diverse incoming classes will remain our priority moving forward,” Powell said.