Harvard College Dean Rakesh Khurana Talks Post-Affirmative Action Race Data

Updated October 25, 2024, at 12:23 a.m.

After Harvard reported a drop in the number of Black students enrolled in the Class of 2028, Dean of the College Rakesh Khurana said in an interview on Thursday he was “disappointed” the College could not use race-conscious admissions practices to admit its current crop of freshmen students.

“I believe that the College benefits from the full diversity of backgrounds and experiences of this country,” Khurana said during the interview.

“I am disappointed when we’re not able to engage in acknowledging the full recognition that talent is everywhere and opportunities are not,” he added.

The racial demographics of the Class of 2028, which were released last month, reflected a four percentage point drop in Black enrollment from the previous year, sliding from 18 to 14 percent, though the College simultaneously adjusted how it calculated its statistics.

The Class of 2028 was the first class admitted to the College after the Supreme Court reshaped undergraduate admissions in 2023 after the Court ruled that Harvard’s race-conscious admissions practices were unconstitutional.

The proportion of Hispanic students rose by 2 percentage points to 16 percent from 14 percent in the Class of 2027, while the proportion of students who identified as Asian American remained the same at 37 percent.

The number of students who chose not to disclose their race or ethnicity in their college application rose from 4 percent in the Class of 2027 to 8 percent in the Class of 2028. The College calculated reported data from the total number of students who disclosed their race or ethnicity, rather than out of the entire freshman class, as in the past.

Khurana stressed that the College would continue to make “a very strong effort” to encourage students to apply regardless of their background, including publicizing the school’s financial aid program and enlisting alumni and current students to conduct outreach to potential applicants.

“I think we need to just do more of making sure people know that Harvard could be a place for them, and that we’d be really lucky if they would consider us,” Khurana said.

The demographic data released by the College remains, for the most part, similar to that of previous years — particularly in comparison to institutions like MIT, Amherst College, and Tufts University that saw more drastic changes in the makeup of their student body.

The Class of 2028’s race data offers the first indication of how the Supreme Court’s ruling may transform the makeup of the student body, though senior University officials said it may take several years to fully realize the effects of the decision.

—Staff writer Michelle N. Amponsah can be reached at michelle.amponsah@thecrimson.com. Follow her on Twitter @mnamponsah.

—Staff writer Joyce E. Kim can be reached at joyce.kim@thecrimson.com. Follow her on X at @joycekim324.