Harvard faculty group tosses 'narrow' DEI hiring requirement, report says

CAMBRIDGE, Mass. (TND) — A Harvard University faculty group will no longer require job applicants to submit diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) statements with their applications, the Harvard Crimson reported Monday.

The Harvard Faculty of Arts and Sciences (FAS) reportedly said the decision was made in response to feedback from “numerous faculty members.” Dean of Faculty Affairs and Planning Nina Zipser said in a Monday email the requirements sometimes became confusing to applicants and proved “too narrow in the information they attempted to gather,” the publication wrote.

FAS reportedly previously required applicants to give examples of their “efforts to encourage diversity, inclusion, and belonging, including past, current, and anticipated future contributions in these areas." It will now instead require a “service statement" focused on “efforts to strengthen academic communities” and a teaching statement describing the creation of a “learning environment in which students are encouraged to ask questions and share their ideas," according to the Harvard Crimson.

The move follows substantial scrutiny of the Ivy League school’s commitment to DEI initiatives. Randall Kennedy, a professor at Harvard Law School, blasted mandatory DEI statements in an editorial in April, calling for them to be immediately abandoned.

Imagine the howl of protest that would (or should) erupt if a school at Harvard asked a candidate for a faculty position to submit a statement of their orientation towards capitalism, or patriotism, or Making America Great Again with a clear expectation of allegiance?” the professor asked.

FAS in May made a vocal push to award degrees to 13 seniors undergoing disciplinary action for their involvement in a pro-Palestine demonstration on campus. In an open letter to Interim President Alan Garber, the staff argued the students did nothing wrong.

READ MORE | Rep. Foxx wary of 'murky' Harvard decision to limit official statements: 'Raises concerns'

“We, the undersigned Harvard faculty and staff, are alarmed that Harvard undergraduate students who engaged in peaceful protest are being sanctioned in an unprecedented, disproportionate, and arbitrary manner compared to students engaging in similar acts of civil disobedience in Harvard’s history,” the letter reads. “These sanctions undermine trust. Students and faculty acted based on the widespread understanding that the university would facilitate prompt graduation, as had been stated in direct communications from the President.”

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