Connecticut
Legacy Admission Ban Passes In Maryland, Falters In Connecticut
Maryland passes a ban on a legacy admission preferences, while Connecticut weakens a similar … [+]
Legislation that would ban colleges from giving an advantage to the relatives of alumni has met very different fates in two states recently.
Last month Maryland enacted a legacy admission ban that applies to both public and private colleges. But in Connecticut, the House converted an earlier bill with a similar prohibition into one that would require colleges only to report data about their use of legacy admissions.
Maryland now becomes the third state to eliminate the practice of legacy preferences, following Colorado which passed its ban in 2021 and Virginia, which did so earlier this year.
Maryland Governor Wes Moore signed HB 4 into law on April 25. It applies to colleges and universities that receive state funds, regardless of whether they are public or private. In addition to prohibiting any admission preference for relatives of an alum, the law, which goes into effect July 1, also bans institutions from giving a similar preference to applicants who are relatives of a donor to the institution.
In Connecticut, a bill that began as a ban against legacy admission preferences was weakened after private institutions such as Yale University and Fairfield University mounted a campaign defending the practice, arguing that the government should not intrude on how colleges and universities establish and apply their admissions standards.
Bowing to those concerns, the Connecticut Senate passed an amended bill this week that mandates colleges either to indicate they don’t consider legacy status in admissions or report various admission/enrollment data, including the percentage of legacy students admitted along with data comparing the academic credentials of legacy admits to those of other students. The bill now moves to the Connecticut House of Representatives for its consideration.
The fairness of legacy preferences has been challenged for years, resulting in several prominent colleges electing to discontinue them. However, the heat has been turned up against the practice ever since last year’s Supreme Court decision in Students for Fair Admissions v. Harvard University and Students for Fair Admissions v. University of North Carolina finding race-conscious admissions to be unconstitutional.
That ruling brought renewed scrutiny to the racial implications of legacy advantages extended to applicants by highly selective institutions. For example, the percentage of the freshmen class admitted at several selective colleges via the legacy route exceeds the percentage of entering freshmen who are Black, according to a recent report, prepared by Education Reform Now. At many of these colleges, three-quarters or more of the legacy applicants receiving acceptances are white.
Results like those prompt an obvious question: If colleges are required to practice race-neutral admissions policies, why should they be able to continue admission practices – like legacy preferences – that appear to discriminate against nonwhite students?
Legacy abolitionists will see these latest two legislative developments as one step forward and one step back.
Maryland’s passage of its new law might give some momentum to other states like Minnesota and Massachusetts that are still considering bans. But the outcome in Connecticut is clearly a setback. It represents a compromise that prevents any real change to the status quo, and it may become a strategy adopted in the future by legacy-preferring colleges to weaken or derail statutory bans in other states.
Marked by a ceremonial ribbon cutting and attended by Governor Ned Lamont, state legislators, Waterbury officials, and community leaders, UConn Health celebrated the acquisition of Waterbury Hospital which as of today is now the UConn Health Waterbury Hospital.
“This is a defining moment for healthcare in Connecticut,” said Dr. Andrew Agwunobi, CEO of UConn Health Community Network. “We now have the opportunity to take the award -winning academic quality and service of UConn Health and share it with the wonderful employees, doctors and community of Waterbury.”
Connecticut Governor Ned Lamont described the initiative as a forward-looking investment in the future of healthcare access across Connecticut.
“Connecticut is leading with innovation,” said Connecticut Governor Lamont. “The UConn Health Community Network reflects a proactive approach to strengthening community-based care by connecting it directly to the capabilities of our state’s public academic medical center. What begins in Waterbury today, represents a new model designed to expand opportunity, access, and excellence for communities statewide.”
In addition to UConn Health Waterbury Hospital, the Network includes UConn Health Community Network Medical Group and UConn Health Waterbury Health at Home. The model preserves each member’s local identity and will grow thoughtfully over time to improve quality, expand access, and reduce the total cost of care.
“This reflects a bold step forward in how we think about healthcare in Connecticut,” said John Driscoll, Chair of the UConn Health Board of Directors. “Today we celebrate the beginning of a new approach to community-based care. We move forward with clarity of purpose and shared commitment to serve our communities better together.”
Comptroller Sean Scanlon highlighted the significance of the model for the long-term evolution of healthcare delivery in Connecticut.
“This partnership represents thoughtful leadership at a pivotal time for healthcare,” said Connecticut Comptroller Sean Scanlon. “By aligning community hospitals with academic medicine, Connecticut is building a modern framework that positions our healthcare system to meet the needs of patients today and into the future.”
“Hosting this celebration on our campus is deeply meaningful for our staff, physicians and the families we serve,” said Deborah Weymouth, President of UConn Health Waterbury Hospital. “Waterbury’s legacy of care continues, and we are tremendously proud to have a strong partner who is deeply committed to our community and help lead this next chapter for healthcare.”
Welcome UConn Health Waterbury Hospital!
A multi-vehicle crash temporarily close Interstate 84 on Tuesday night.
The crash happened around 8:30 p.m. and involved four cars, according to the Hartford Fire Department.
Fire crews arrived at the scene and helped one of the drivers who was trapped. The driver was then taken to a local hospital for evaluation and treatment.
Four other people reported minor injuries but declined ambulance treatment at the scene, officials said.
I-84 East was temporarily shut down as crews responded but has since reopened.
The Connecticut State Police is investigating the crash.
As the snow turns to sleet and freezing rain in parts of the state this afternoon, it is causing some treacherous travel on Connecticut roads.
The Connecticut Department of Transportation is reporting several crashes.
There are crashes on both sides of Interstate 691 in Meriden.
A tractor-trailer jackknifed on the eastbound side of I-691 between Exit 5 and 3, closing the left lane. On the westbound side, a single-vehicle crash closed the left lane.
There is a two-vehicle crash on I-91 North in Middletown between Exits 20 and 21. The left and center lanes are closed.
A multi-vehicle crash has closed lanes of I-84 East in Waterbury between Exits 25 and 25A. There is a second crash on I-84 East in Southington near Exit 30.
In Cromwell, a two-vehicle crash closed the right lane of Route 9 North in Cromwell.
On Route 9 South, a crash closed a lane on the southbound side.
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