CCAS Public Statements

CCAS SUPPORTS ACLS STATEMENT on SCOTUS RULING ON AFFIRMATIVE ACTION

July 14, 2023

The Council of the Colleges of Arts and Sciences (CCAS) is a membership organization representing more than 800 deans and over 1200 associate and assistant deans of colleges and schools of arts and sciences. We encourage our deans to lead within their institutions and beyond. On behalf of our membership, CCAS stands in solidarity with the American Council of Learned Societies (ACLS) and echoes its statement made last week by (ACLS Statement on SCOTUS Ruling on Affirmative Action - ACLS) in response to the recent Supreme Court decision on race-conscious admissions programs at colleges and universities. The ACLS statement aligns well with the CCAS mission as a champion for the liberal arts and sciences and our organizational commitment to equity and access in higher education.   As the heart of the academy, colleges of arts and sciences support equitable and inclusive access to learning to students from all races, creeds, genders, sexual orientation, and political belief. To learn more about CCAS, join us at our annual meeting. On behalf of ACLS, President Joy Connolly will accept the CCAS Arts & Sciences Advocacy Award in November at the CCAS2023 Annual Meeting: Preparing Deans for a Sustainable Future.

CCAS SIGNS LETTER TO NIH REGARDING NEW CLINICAL TRIAL DEFINITION

October 3, 2018
CCAS signed a letter to the Deputy Director of the National Institutes of Health, Dr. Tabak, urging the agency to work with the research community to address the expansive reach of the agency’s existing clinical trials definition.
 

CCAS cosigns letter opposing the grothman amendment

July 23, 2018
Read the Dear Colleague letter

CCAS ENDORSES STATEMENTS FROM ACE AND APLU IN RESPONSE TO TRUMP ADMINISTRATION DECISION ON RACE AS FACTOR IN COLLEGE ADMISSION

July 5, 2018
The CCAS Board of Directors endorses statements from ACE and APLU and will consider additional statements on this issue as they emerge:

ACE Statement by President Ted Mitchell on Trump Administration Decision to Rescind Guidelines on Race in College Admission, found here: http://bit.ly/2NvdiTb

APLU Statement on the Trump Administration's Reversal of Guidance on Race as a Factor in College Admissions, found here: http://bit.ly/2Nyj7z9

CCAS cosigned a letter to the
federal government in support of science

December 19, 2017
CCAS cosigned a letter from AAAS to the federal government in support of scientists and the use of science in decision making. Read the full letter here: http://bit.ly/2z009sE
Please feel free to share this message with your departments and faculty.

CCAS Response to the End of DACA

September 8, 2017
WILLIAMSBURG, Virginia — The Council of Colleges of Arts and Sciences (CCAS) is concerned by the recently announced end of the federal Deferred Action on Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program. Since its inception in 2012, DACA enabled academically qualified but undocumented students access to institutions of higher education across the country to pursue their dreams of obtaining college degrees and the brighter futures that these degrees make possible. These students are vital members of our communities, but now face increased anxiety and fear as their legal status is now uncertain.  

CCAS is a professional organization for deans of colleges of arts and sciences around the world. Our membership includes over 750 deans (and an additional 1,000 associate and assistant deans) at 525 institutions in the United States and abroad. Deans of arts and sciences are devoted to critical and robust discussions from a variety of perspectives, in and out of the classroom. Together with our colleagues across higher education, we promote student success by increasing the ability of those with diverse viewpoints to confidently express themselves and engage others in the search for truth. We believe that fostering students’ willingness to examine the evidence and thoughtfully question the conclusions and opinions others offer is a crucial component in their development into active, well-informed citizens. DACA students are vibrant participants in these efforts, and bring unique perspectives to these discussions. Campus conversations will be impoverished by their absence.  

The CCAS strongly embraces the American democratic experiment, and we gladly accept our responsibility to provide a broad education in arts and sciences that is the foundation of the American education establishment for all students, documented as well as undocumented. The DACA program enables students who are among the best and brightest on our campuses to pursue their dreams and contribute to their communities. We stand with our students and join colleagues throughout the United States in urging Congress to pursue legislation that will restore an important program that benefits the nation as a whole.

This statement has been provided by the CCAS Board of Directors.

For more information contact:
Amber E. Cox, Executive Director
www.ccas.net
ccas@wm.edu
757-221-1784

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