I don’t think that’s the type of “diversity” he is talking about…as indicated by the demographics of the school. I think he is just trying to make the environment more “interesting” given the increase in non-white demographics (such as Asians). I don’t buy this argument that schools are “too” focused on it in the admissions process. The success of Asian applicants to many top universities and the socioeconomic demographics often show otherwise. Also with things like legacy admissions patterns at some schools, this naturally counters any measures to ethnically diversify a campus. They can and have only to a certain extent “solved” this. Other applicants get pushed aside for many reasons that extend beyond diversity initiatives. Even the deserving on paper can get screwed because there are simply too many applicants. Also, only taking the “deserving” on paper doesn’t seem to work for medium sized top universities. The more “holistic” admissions policies of some elites seems to have positively impacted output metrics (mainly prestigious scholarships among others). Stanford and Duke certainly are not doing poorly for example and they aren’t trying to post HYPM numbers.