October 1, 2020
Last month Princeton University President, Christopher Eisgruber, provided a public update on the work the institution is doing to acknowledge, address and eradicate systemic racism at the university. Since then, the U.S. Department of Education has opened an investigation into possible misrepresentation of Princeton’s adherence to federal non-discrimination law.
Individuals and institutions across the country are more openly and deeply addressing the systemic racism and injustice in our country and are working towards a more just and equitable society. The Accrediting Commission for Community and Junior Colleges (ACCJC) wishes to support these endeavors so our institutions represent and support the extraordinary diversity of students and staff in our country. For this reason, ACCJC along with 54 other higher education groups signed on to a letter written by the American Council on Education (ACE). In the letter, we urge the Department of Education to drop its investigation and affirm the meaningful work Princeton University is undertaking to address racism in U.S. higher education.
In the letter, supporters wrote:
“It is vital for the federal government to support and assist this pursuit of diversity, equity, and inclusion. One way to do this is by affirming institutional and individual confidence that speaking both within organizations and publicly about these hard, important issues will be enabled and applauded, not attacked by the government.
Like colleges and universities all over our country, Princeton University is strongly committed to ending racial injustice and preventing discrimination in any form and to do so in a way that will benefit all members of the Princeton community. Regrettably, instead of encouraging Princeton’s efforts, the Department of Education launched an unprecedented and unwarranted investigation into the institution. Such an action is likely to chill the genuine efforts of hundreds of other institutions, many without the resources that Princeton has to defend itself against a federal investigation, to identify, recognize, and correct injustices.”
