<p>^^I think that when the book is closed on the NESCAC colleges in general they will be known primarily for their <em>amicus</em> briefs filed in virtually every major affirmative action case of the early 21st century. Known by its shorthand as the “Amherst brief” (largely because Amherst appears first in the alphabetic listing of its petitioners) they are almost always cited as models of the “holistic” approach to admissions policies in general and to affirmative action in particular. If you couple that with the participation of at least four of their number (Amherst, Trinity, Wesleyan and Williams) in the COFHE organization, they have collectively ridden the crest of virtually every major reform pertaining to access and diversity in higher education over the last forty years. COFHE (which stands for the Consortium for the Financing of Higher Education) and its members are responsible for what is probably the greatest yearly transfer of private wealth from one generation to the next anywhere in the world.</p>
<p>On the other side of the ledger, with assets well in excess of $10 billion and a collecive intercollegiate athletic budget of some $50 million, they have between them only three or four academic departments that might be deemed to have national reputations.</p>