Texas Tech Drops Diversity Statement Requirement for Prospective Faculty Members

Texas Tech Drops Diversity Statement Requirement for Prospective Faculty Members

In a win for academic freedom, Texas Tech University has dropped its requirement for prospective faculty members to submit a diversity statement.

As we have repeatedly pointed out, the ideology behind diversity, equity and inclusion is destructive for higher education.

The National Association of Scholars applauded the decision:

Victory for Academic Freedom: Texas Tech Ditches Diversity Statements

The National Association of Scholars (NAS) applauds the speed with which Texas Tech University jettisoned its requirement that candidates for faculty positions submit “diversity statements.” This decision came just hours after NAS senior fellow John Sailer published “How ‘Diversity’ Policing Fails Science” in the Wall Street Journal on February 7, in which he detailed how the Texas Tech Department of Biological Sciences used these statements. Texas Tech notes in its announcement that it has “immediately withdr[awn] this practice” and related “evaluation rubrics.” The university also declared that it would initiate “a review of hiring procedures across all colleges and departments.”

This is a breakthrough in the larger battle against higher education’s attempt to impose diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) standards on faculty hiring, along with every other aspect of college and university life. Sailer used a freedom of information request to obtain the public university search committee’s evaluations of candidates. This is the first time that the public has been able to see how DEI standards affect applicants.

“These documents prove definitively that ‘diversity’ statements are not a benign addition to a candidate’s application,” noted Sailer. “These statements clearly encourage a narrow focus on race and gender and open the door for search committees to screen candidates by political association. DEI statements are a clear danger to academic freedom.”…

“I am glad that Texas Tech acted so quickly to stop this abuse,” said Peter W. Wood, president of the National Association of Scholars. “This is, however, a problem that goes deeper than ‘diversity statements.’” Wood added, “American higher education has become obsessed with the ideology of racial ‘equity,’ to the point where ordinary fairness, as well as standards of intellectual excellence, have been undermined.

FOX 34 in Texas has a statement from the school:

“Texas Tech University’s faculty hiring practices will always emphasize disciplinary excellence and the ability of candidates to support our priorities in student success, impactful scholarship, and community engagement. Recently, we learned of a department that required a diversity, equity, and inclusion statement in addition to the usual applicant materials as pan of a faculty search. We immediately withdrew this practice and initiated a review of hiring procedures across all colleges and departments. We will withdraw the use of these statements and evaluation rubrics if identified.”

This is a win.

UPDATE: After I published my article in @WSJopinion, Texas Tech University announced that it has ended its use of DEI statements. pic.twitter.com/0QYAtenXFO

— John Sailer (@JohnDSailer) February 8, 2023

WINNING: After @JohnDSailer's bombshell report in the WSJ, Texas Tech has suspended its "diversity statement" policy, which prioritized job candidates who expressed fealty to left-wing racialist ideology.

The war against the DEI bureaucracy has just begun. pic.twitter.com/kRYtBwAPd6

— Christopher F. Rufo ⚔️ (@realchrisrufo) February 8, 2023

Featured image via YouTube.

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