BY SILKE-MARIA WEINECK The following is reposted with permission from the Michigan Daily. A few months ago, University [of Michigan] Provost Laurie McCauley banned diversity statements in hiring. Diversity statements, the argument went, imposed inappropriate ideological litmus tests. And a few days ago, University President Santa Ono told the audience at an event hosted by the…
BY THE NORTH CAROLINA CONFERENCE OF THE AAUP On February 5, the University of North Carolina System issued a memorandum to UNC chancellors announcing that “all general education requirements and major-specific requirements mandating completion of course credits related to diversity, equity, and inclusion, or any other topic identified in Section VII of the [UNC System]…
BY DALE E. MILLER In a recent op-ed in The Hill titled “Our Universities Need Both Free Speech and Diversity Protections to Succeed,” Austin Sarat makes a vital point: “Free speech advocates should welcome . . . efforts to make colleges and universities more diverse and inclusive.” Yet he omits an equally vital point: The…
BY TABBYE CHAVOUS Ed. note: This week the New York Times Magazine published an article, “The University of Michigan Doubled Down on D.E.I. What Went Wrong?,” by investigative reporter Nicholas Confessore. To many in the U-M community, including some with serious criticisms of some DEI initiatives, the article was plagued by misinformation and bias. The…
On April 17, higher ed unions, AAUP chapters, and student organizations across the U.S. are coming together for a national day of action to fight back against the coordinated assault on teaching and learning, and to mobilize for a system of higher education that serves the public good. Our aim is not just to beat…
BY MARK S. JAMES Last August, my colleague wrote about how our university’s leadership has embraced a top-down corporate model as the way of running the university, and he proceeded to describe various instances when they have ignored shared governance and threatened academic freedom. This trend has continued unabated. The most recent example of this…
BY JAMIE GONZALES The impending closure of the UH LGBTQ Resource Center caused by the passing of Senate Bill 17 weighs heavy on my heart. For those unfamiliar with SB 17, it states that “the governing board of an institution of higher education shall ensure that each unit of the institution: (1) does not, except…
BY JENNIFER RUTH Are you now, or have you ever been, a member of a DEI committee? At the University of Texas–Austin, Professor Kathleen McElroy served on the Council for Racial and Ethnic Equity and Diversity. She also wrote an op-ed for the student newspaper, The Daily Texan, entitled “The Importance of Faculty Diversity Is…
BY NORRIS M. HAYNES The US Supreme Court has recently ruled that colleges and universities can no longer use race as a factor in college admissions. This ruling was the result of a specific challenge to admissions policies at Harvard University and the University of North Carolina. In their complaint, the plaintiffs, an organization called…