“Diversity has been a component of NYU’s character from the time of its very creation.
“When NYU was founded in the first part of the 19th Century, institutions of higher education were virtually uniform in serving the elite classes and in being tied to specific religious denominations. NYU was conceived differently modeled on the University of London, it was created to serve the emerging middle and merchant class, and it rejected an affiliation with any religious group.
“We have kept faith with our origins. We believe that diversity remains an indispensable element of our community’s character, and that the composition of our community is a crucial educational decision. The University is a signatory of the Association of American Universities’ April 1997 statement on diversity.
“As has been permitted by the Supreme Court of the United States since the Bakke case in 1978, and in furtherance of the achievement of diversity, a candidate’s race continues to be one of the factors used in the evaluation of applicants to NYU.
“The University of Michigan case, recently accepted for review by the Supreme Court, presents an important opportunity for the Court to provide the higher education community with much needed additional guidance on this issue. NYU has agreed to join a coalition of universities that will be filing a friend of the court brief in support of the University of Michigan.”