Common Ground Events

Event Description

Common Ground will examine the Students for Fair Admissions v. Harvard (2023) Supreme Court case, which ruled with a 6-2 vote that using race as a factor in college admissions is unconstitutional. Students for Fair Admissions argued that Harvard’s admissions practices discriminated against Asian Americans in violation of Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. This landmark decision overruled previous decisions in Grutter v. Bollinger (2003) and Regents of the University of California v. Bakke (1978) which had upheld affirmative action in college admissions provided that an applicant’s race was considered as a factor that was part of a holistic evaluation process. In February 2025, the Department of Education issued a “Dear Colleague letter” stating that the decision in SFFA applies more broadly beyond admissions, to include financial aid, scholarships, housing, and all aspects of student, academic, and campus life.

All Common Ground events are free and open to the public. The event will be streamed live for those that cannot attend.

Annette Gordon-Reed is a historian and the Carl M. Loeb University Professor at Harvard Law School. She is the author of several books and has won over sixteen book prizes, including the National Book Award and the Pulitzer Prize in History for her book The Hemingses of Monticello. Most recently, Gordon-Reed released the New York Times bestseller On Juneteenth. Gordon-Reed is also the recipient of a Guggenheim Fellowship, a MacArthur Fellowship, and the National Humanities Medal.

Heather Mac Donald is the Thomas W. Smith Fellow at the Manhattan Institute, a contributing editor of City Journal, and the New York Times bestselling author of The War on Cops. She is a recipient of the 2005 Bradley Prize and over a dozen awards for her writings. Mac Donald’s most recent book is When Race Trumps Merit: How the Pursuit of Equity Sacrifices Excellence, Destroys Beauty, and Threatens Lives (2023). Mac Donald is also a non-practicing lawyer.

Moderator Michael J. Grygiel ‘79, P’23 co-chairs Greenberg Traurig, LLP’s national media and entertainment litigation group. Grygiel focuses his practice on media/First Amendment law. He graduated from the Temple University Beasley School of Law after receiving his B.A. from Hamilton College.

Common Ground is Hamilton’s widely acclaimed multi-format program designed to explore cross-boundary political thought and complex social issues. Topics intertwined with the College’s curriculum are chosen to foster critical thinking and holistic examination of difficult and often contentious national and global policy issues. 

The College is grateful to Mary Helen and Robert Morris ’76, P’16,’17; and Lori and David Hess '77 for their generous support of Common Ground.