College professor says questioning campus diversity measures may cost him his job
A California college professor said after he and a group of faculty committed to free speech questioned diversity measures on campus, they were targeted with false allegations of racism that puts his job on the line.
American universities are increasingly requiring students and faculty to pledge support for equity and inclusion efforts through "diversity statements," which in turn suppress the hiring of independent or conservative faculty and student applicants, according to a report from the Goldwater Institute.
At Arizona’s public universities, diversity statements are mandated in 28 percent of job postings at the University of Arizona, 73 percent of job postings at Northern Arizona University (NAU) and 81 percent of job postings at Arizona State University (ASU) as of fall 2022, according to the Goldwater Institute report.
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Closed campus of Arizona State University in downtown Phoenix, Arizona. Arizona State University or ASU is a public university with the largest student body in the United States. (iStock)
"DEI [diversity, equity and inclusion] programs and ‘statements’ do not produce free expression nor more diversity of thought, equal opportunities, and a culture that includes everyone in school activities because DEI’s guiding principles are rooted in the racially discriminatory worldview known as critical race theory," Jonathan Butcher wrote in the report.
Faculty registered as Democrats now outnumber Republicans by more than 7 to 1 at the University of Arizona and 12 to 1 at ASU, according to a report by the National Association of Scholars.
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Olivia Krupp, 19, a sophomore at the University of Arizona and a student journalist works on her computer at the library on the University of Arizona campus in Tucson, Arizona, on October 25, 2022. (Photo by Kitra Cahana for The Washington Post via Getty Images) ((Photo by Kitra Cahana for The Washington Post via Getty Images))
Diversity statements sometimes required applicants to replace the traditional cover letter with a DEI statement, which forced candidates to provide "up to two full pages detailing their activism or commitment to the DEI regime," asking them to endorse what the Goldwater Institute refers to as "CRT-based concepts" like "intersectional personal identities."
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At NAU, applicants were encouraged to use "CRT-based terminology" like "intersectional personal identities" in their required DEI responses, the report found. Kimberlé Crenshaw developed the framework for Critical Race Theory and coined the term "intersectionality," according to the Association of American Law Schools.
Even for a technical position at ASA, like a research fellow for "ultra-bright nano-structured photoemission electron sources," required applicants to submit a statement on their commitment to DEI.
Students listen to an instructor while maintaining social distancing during an acting class at the University of Arizona in Tucson, Arizona, U.S., on Monday, Aug. 24, 2020. (Cheney Orr/Bloomberg via Getty Images) (Cheney Orr/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
The Arizona Constitution states that "no religious or political test or qualification shall ever be required as a condition of admission into any public educational institution of the state, as teacher, student, or pupil," but the report argues that by "stopping short of requiring candidates to identify explicitly partisan preferences, university administrators have attempted to skirt the intent of this constitutional safeguard."
The Goldwater Institute's argues that the Arizona Board of Regents and state lawmakers should bar state universities from requiring DEI statements as a condition of hire "to restore the ideological neutrality of taxpayer funded universities and restore compliance with the state constitution’s ban on political tests."
Fox News Digital reached out to Arizona State University, University of Arizona and Northern Arizona University for comment on the Goldwater Institute report. This article will be updated with any replies.