Org That Reps Thousands Of Academics In US Defends Diversity Statements For ‘Academic Freedom’

The American Association of University Professors (AAUP) asserted that the use of diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) criteria such as diversity statements in hiring and promoting staff is a key component for “academic freedom,” according to an October report.

AAUP’s “Committee A on Academic Freedom and Tenure” views DEI criteria in hiring processes as positive, arguing that it can help assess faculty members’ skills and achievements, the report states. Along with claiming DEI statements go hand-in-hand with academic freedom, the committee also says that colleges and universities have a duty to teach about inequality.

The organization rejects claims from critics who oppose DEI statements, rebuking the notion that they are a “political litmus test” or an “ideological screening tool” to weed out conservative candidates and that they are not a form of unconstitutional viewpoint discrimination as others have suggested.

AAUP instead argues that using DEI statements in the processes of hiring, rehiring and granting tenure assists in promoting diversity and potential positive outcomes when faculty members are asked about their teaching approach and research interests, the report states.

“Criticisms of DEI statements and other criteria often conflate social and institutional values with imposed orthodoxies,” the report says. “Sweeping or abstract criticisms of DEI criteria fundamentally — and often deliberately — misunderstand and misrepresent this distinction. A college or university might institutionally value (1) recruiting and retaining a diverse student population, (2) recruiting and retaining a diverse faculty to teach those students, and (3) teaching, research, and service that respond to the needs of a diverse global public.”