DCAD is dedicated to providing an academic environment that is racially and culturally diverse. Intellectual, artistic and professional growth is enhanced in an atmosphere that supports and encourages mutual respect for individual differences.

DCAD is committed to a policy of equal opportunity for all educational activities, admissions, scholarship and loan programs, and employment. Discrimination on the basis of race, color, national origin, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, age, physical disability, marital status, veteran status, or other protected status is prohibited at the Delaware College of Art and Design. Acts of discrimination that limit or deny access to the educational process and that create a hostile environment are not consistent with DCAD’s philosophy or mission.

We fully support the statement by the Association of Independent Colleges of Art and Design (AICAD) in response to the Supreme Court of the United States’s 2022 decisions in Students for Fair Admissions (SFFA) v. Harvard and Students for Fair Admissions (SFFA) v. University of North Carolina (UNC), two landmark cases involving affirmative action.

The Association of Independent Colleges of Art & Design (AICAD) takes this moment to restate its continued commitment to diversity, equity, inclusion and social justice as a core value of the association and its member institutions. The recent decision by the Supreme Court of the United States in Students for Fair Admissions v Harvard and University of North Carolina does not in any way change this commitment. AICAD and its member institutions acknowledge that structural, systemic, historical, and intersecting forms of oppression require our ongoing attention, action, innovation, and leadership for positive change. We believe that contemporary arts and design education, thinking and making requires the full embrace of diversity, equity and inclusion. We are committed to providing learning environments and communities within which all can succeed. Given our specialized focus, we recognize that excellence embraces a range of aesthetic sensibilities and artistic motivations as well as, and often intertwined with, broad dimensions of diversity. Along with our students, faculty, staff, and boards, we strive to continually develop in order to thrive in an increasingly interconnected and global society. We understand that institutional practices and education rooted in the strengths of diversity, equity and inclusion are fundamental.

If anything, in this moment we strengthen our resolve to continue to critically evaluate the systems and structures within which our institutions and the disciplines in which we educate need to evolve to further promote equity, inclusion, and social justice. AICAD will work with legal counsel to understand the implications of the recent Supreme Court decision on current practices and programs both within the association and at member institutions to ensure that our efforts follow the letter of the law without retreating from our commitments to diversity, equity, inclusion and social justice.

AICAD is a nonprofit consortium of the leading specialized arts and design schools in the US and Canada. Founded in 1991, AICAD’s mission is to help strengthen the member colleges individually and collectively, and to inform the public about these colleges and universities and the value of studying the arts and design.

As a member institution, DCAD benefits from the valuable programs and activities AICAD provides to strengthen and connect its member schools.