John Sailer Profile picture
Feb 23, 2023 8 tweets 4 min read Read on X
DOCUMENTS: Through a records request, I have acquired the University of Missouri's rubric for evaluating diversity statements.

As usual, the rubric proves the critics' point: DEI evaluations invite viewpoint discrimination.
As it turns out, Mizzou routinely uses diversity statements in hiring.

According to its Inclusive Excellence Plan, the College of Arts and Science has expanded its use of the statements. The college of agriculture has committed to using them for “all faculty applications.”
Mizzou’s Division of Biological Sciences (why is it always biology?) heavily weighs diversity statements.

Its website advertises its “equal weighting of the research, teaching, and inclusion and equity statements" in the first round of faculty job application reviews.
Meanwhile, Mizzou’s training on “Best Practice for Inclusive Excellence in Faculty Hiring” encourages hiring committees to assess job candidates’ contributions to DEI using a pre-established rubric.
Again, the Mizzou rubric I obtained through a FOIA request perfectly illustrates how diversity statement policies invite viewpoint discrimination.
Though innocuous-sounding, the phrase “diversity, equity, and inclusion” doesn't imply a set of neutral values.

In practice, it implies a set of controversial views about race, gender, and social justice. Again and again, this is demonstrated by university DEI initiatives.
By now, it should be obvious that diversity statements will inevitably function as ideological litmus tests—and huge failures of priority.

Unfortunately, they’re alive and well at the University of Missouri.
Read the full story, and take a look at the rubric, at @MindingCampus. Through top-quality research and reporting, we're documenting the ways that DEI has invaded higher education to the detriment of our public and private universities.

mindingthecampus.org/2023/02/23/doc…

• • •

Missing some Tweet in this thread? You can try to force a refresh
 

Keep Current with John Sailer

John Sailer Profile picture

Stay in touch and get notified when new unrolls are available from this author!

Read all threads

This Thread may be Removed Anytime!

PDF

Twitter may remove this content at anytime! Save it as PDF for later use!

Try unrolling a thread yourself!

how to unroll video
  1. Follow @ThreadReaderApp to mention us!

  2. From a Twitter thread mention us with a keyword "unroll"
@threadreaderapp unroll

Practice here first or read more on our help page!

More from @JohnDSailer

Nov 2
In 2022, a paper drawing from “critical whiteness studies" analyzed how "whiteness" shows up in Physics 101—concluding that, among other things, the use of whiteboards perpetuate whiteness in physics.

Here's what's crazy: this "research" was funded by the federal government.
🧵Image
2/ But first: what's Critical Whiteness Studies?

Per the article, it's a research framework that starts with the assumption that omnipresent, invisible whiteness pervades our ordinary interactions and institutions to ensure "white dominance."Image
3/ It's a bold starting point—with more than a hint of racial animosity. Applied to physics, it gets weird.

The article finds that the values of "abstractness" and "disembodiment" in physics ("physics values") reify whiteness and reflect human domination and entitlement. Image
Read 8 tweets
Oct 4
As official policy, the Los Angeles Community College District requires faculty to complete an in-depth DEI evaluation and self-reflection.

A truly remarkable document. Quasi-religious. Take a look at some of the questions. 🧵 Image
First, faculty have to "recognize the impact of racial and social identities in creating oppression and marginalization" and to describe their "commitment" to "anti-racist perspectives."

It's worth noting that the California Community Colleges system has been explicit about its definition of "anti-racism," which in good Kendian fashion is far from merely opposing racism.Image
Next, faculty in the community college district must "discuss" their "commitment to self-assessment" in anti-racism.

They're also asked to reflect on the effect of their implicit bias and—bizarrely—their understanding of racial "superiority or inferiority." Image
Read 5 tweets
Oct 2
The MacArthur Foundation just announced its 2024 fellows. In addition to eight hundred thousand no-strings-attached dollars, these awardees can now flaunt the (unofficial) title of “genius.”

Two thirds won this honor for work on race, sex, or identity. (🧵)


Image
Image
Image
Image
This year’s “geniuses” (yes, I know, the MacArthur foundation doesn't like that title) include a “performer working in the cabaret tradition” who has been “at the forefront of Trans visibility and activism since the early 1990s.”
Image
Image
Another writes poems that “bring the reader face-to-face with violence inflicted on Black lives.”

Another’s recent book is titled “Race After Technology: Abolitionist Tools for the New Jim Code”


Image
Image
Image
Image
Read 5 tweets
Sep 17
1/ Harvard and MIT ended mandatory DEI statements for hiring faculty. Yet a mirror image of the policy is gaining traction in federal grant applications.

The NIH, perhaps most notably, has begun rolling out mandatory "Plans for Enhancing Diverse Perspectives." Image
2/ These plans essentially require grant applicants to describe their efforts to advance diversity and inclusion as they put together their research proposal.

This is how DEI statements in hiring are typically framed. The biggest issue comes in the evaluation. Image
3/ That's a red flag. When UC Berkeley gave guidance for scoring DEI statements, it penalized espousing race-neutrality.

The same criteria could easily creep into PEDP scoring, as a group of scholars and scientists (including @jflier and @McCormickProf) recently pointed out.
Image
Image
Read 7 tweets
Jul 6
SCOOP: The NIH is giving $250m to universities to hire medical scientists who show “an interest in DEI.”

The NIH says the program doesn't “discriminate against any group.” Public records tell a different story.

As one email put it, “I don’t want to hire white men for sure." Image
The NIH FIRST program funds “cluster hiring” at universities and med schools around the country.

The program follows a popular model, reasoning that universities would hire minorities as a byproduct of heavily weighing DEI statements. On paper it bars racial preferences. Image
But in grant proposals, for projects funded by the NIH, universities repeatedly and openly state they'll restrict who they hire on the basis of race.

Vanderbilt University Medical Center promises to hire 18-20 "Black, Latinx, American Indian, and Pacific Islander" scientists. Image
Read 8 tweets
May 29
NEW: For hiring new professors, Columbia University recommends valuing “contributions to DEI” on par with “research.”

The sample evaluation tool also weighs DEI more highly than teaching.

That’s an especially wild default given how Columbia defines “contributions to DEI"... 🧵Image
Columbia provides an in-depth rubric for assessing DEI credentials. Which, of course, is pretty important if DEI might carry the same weight as research.

Take a look. The rubric gives a low score to candidates who are skeptical of racially-segregated “affinity groups.” Image
Here’s the rest of the Columbia rubric.

It rewards things like speaking at workshops “aimed at increasing others’ understanding of diversity, equity, and inclusion.”
Image
Image
Read 5 tweets

Did Thread Reader help you today?

Support us! We are indie developers!


This site is made by just two indie developers on a laptop doing marketing, support and development! Read more about the story.

Become a Premium Member ($3/month or $30/year) and get exclusive features!

Become Premium

Don't want to be a Premium member but still want to support us?

Make a small donation by buying us coffee ($5) or help with server cost ($10)

Donate via Paypal

Or Donate anonymously using crypto!

Ethereum

0xfe58350B80634f60Fa6Dc149a72b4DFbc17D341E copy

Bitcoin

3ATGMxNzCUFzxpMCHL5sWSt4DVtS8UqXpi copy

Thank you for your support!

Follow Us!

:(