Gates said he was prepared for a flood of e-mails on the subject and that
he hopes most Aggies see this as the “next logical step” in a new approach to picking the A&M student
body.
“My guess is that a lot of former students don’t really appreciate how little
impact legacy has had on the process in the real world,” he said. “If the reality is that legacy helped
300 get in, the perception of some Aggies is probably that it’s 3,000.”
He added that
A&M officials will continue to encourage students from Aggie families to apply for
admission.
Gates said he discussed the legacy decision with the A&M System Board of
Regents and members were supportive. Several regents — including Chairman Lowry Mays and Vice Chairman
Erle Nye, both A&M graduates — could not be reached for comment Friday afternoon. [John LeBas
theeagle.com January 10, 2004]
See Official Gates statement of Jan. 9, 2004 below.
January 9, 2004
STATEMENT ON LEGACY
http://www.tamu.edu/president/speeche
s/040109legacy.html
Texas A&M University President Robert Gates
On
December 3, 2003, when I announced the comprehensive plan to recruit and enroll more minorities at
Texas A&M University, I stated that all students would be admitted based on individual merit and
potential contribution to the University community. Further, I stated at that time and in subsequent
meetings with legislators and internal and external groups that all admissions factors—including
legacy—were under review to ensure that we have a fair and equitable process. This was due in part to
our understanding that there was an inconsistency in the continued use of legacy in a merit-based
process.
We believe, as virtually every university in the country does, that students
whose family members have attended its university add value to what makes those institutions unique.
This is especially true at Texas A&M. At the same time, the solidity of the Aggie family and the
strength of the Aggie culture are not the result of four out of 100 points on an admissions evaluation.
For the three-fourths of our freshmen who were enrolled in the fall of 2003 under the top ten percent
law and automatic academic admission, legacy was irrelevant. Indeed, not one student of the more than
10,000 who were admitted was admitted solely on the basis of legacy. In fact, legacy has been a formal
part of A&M’s admissions process only since 1989 and has played far less of a role in admissions than
either Aggies or others probably believe.
In an admissions process based on individual
merit and potential contribution to the university community, prior affiliation with Texas A&M should
not be a criterion. We intend to continue to urge students from Aggie families to apply to A&M and, if
accepted, to enroll here. But, after consultation with each of the Texas A&M University System Regents,
I have decided that, effective immediately, Texas A&M will no longer award points for legacy in the
admissions review process.
I had intended that legacy be addressed in an ongoing review
of our admissions procedures. However, public perceptions of the fairness and equity of our process
clearly are important and require prompt action to deal with an obvious inconsistency in an admissions
strategy based on individual merit.
Indeed, in retrospect, this decision regarding
legacy should have been part of my December 3rd announcement and because it was not, Texas A&M has
suffered unfortunate negative publicity. I take full responsibility for that.
Today’s
announcement brings greater consistency and equity to our admissions decision making process. We will
continue our review.
Texas Civil Rights Review 