Arizona universities abandon DEI statements for faculty applicants
August 15, 2023
The Arizona Board of Regents has decided to eliminate a diversity requirement that applicants to give a statement about diversity, equity, and inclusion.
The shift comes after the nonprofit Goldwater Institute publicized that 80% of faculty job postings at three major Arizona public universities required applicants to do so.
The schools involved are Arizona State University, the University of Arizona, and Northern Arizona University. The institute posited that job postings required applicants to provide the DEI statements in order to screen out insufficiently progressive candidates, according to an Aug. 8 news release.
Goldwater first exposed in January that the taxpayer-funded universities were requiring applicants to provide “diversity statements” as a condition of hiring.
Texas and Florida have worked with Goldwater to eliminate DEI within schools.