Amid escalating conservative criticism, public universities in Arizona have scrapped the use of diversity statements in the hiring process.
In an email to The Chronicle, Sarah Harper, a spokesperson for the Arizona Board of Regents, said the universities had “discontinued any requests for such statements in job applications.” The board governs the University of Arizona, Arizona State University, Northern Arizona University, and their branch campuses. The three institutions are also scrubbing solicitations for diversity statements from any online job postings, Harper said.
The Arizona board’s decision followed a January report by a conservative think tank, the Goldwater Institute, that claimed the vast majority of the state’s public universities “force applicants to pledge support for progressive, racialized notions of ‘diversity, equity, and inclusion.’”
Neither the Board of Regents nor any of the state’s public universities have ever required diversity statements in hiring, Harper said. Their use has typically been left to the discretion of individual departments.
A spokesperson for Arizona State said it had started to wind down its use of diversity statements last spring, though she didn’t elaborate on why. The official, Veronica Sanchez, wrote in an email on Wednesday that the university had used the summer to “make sure all relevant parties were informed of this change before the start of the new hiring season in the fall.”
“However,” she said, “it’s important to note that sometimes removing certain job postings online takes time.”
The Goldwater Institute wrote in a blog post on Tuesday that it had achieved a “death blow against the use of political litmus tests in Arizona’s public universities.” In an email, Joe Setyon, a spokesperson for Goldwater, said the group observed at the beginning of July that some job postings for Arizona’s universities still mentioned diversity statements. More-recent positions did not, he said.
Diversity statements, typically one- to two-page documents that give job candidates a chance to explain how they can contribute to making a college more inclusive and equitable, have become common in higher ed over the past decade.
Some colleges have mandated that faculty candidates submit diversity statements in an attempt to remedy a lack of racial diversity among professors. A stated goal of such requirements was to give scholars of color an opportunity to discuss the additional service work they often do, like mentoring students of color and serving on diversity committees.
Outside Pressure
Recently, though, the statements have drawn the ire of conservative critics, who say the documents force faculty and staff members to espouse progressive viewpoints. Many professors oppose them, too, saying the statements can too easily become formulaic and cheapen diversity work.
Arizona joins a widening list of states to nix them — four have done so through new state laws, according to The Chronicle’s DEI legislation tracker — amid a broader campaign to dismantle efforts to promote diversity, equity, and inclusion on campuses across the country.
Goldwater and another right-leaning think tank, the Manhattan Institute, have been key proponents of that campaign. In January the organizations published model legislation aimed at banning diversity offices and programs. Dozens of anti-DEI bills have been proposed since then.
Only a handful of states have actually enacted anti-DEI laws, according to a Chronicle analysis. A bill introduced in the Arizona Legislature, for instance, would have scrapped campus DEI offices statewide, but it failed to pass. But the think tanks continue to advocate against campus diversity efforts — and the attention those groups draw from policymakers often sets off a chain of events that prompts colleges to act.
A spokesperson for Northern Arizona University referred The Chronicle to the Board of Regents’ comments. The University of Arizona did not respond to requests for comment.
Nolan León Cabrera, an education professor at the University of Arizona who’s been involved with affinity groups for other faculty of color, said he’s sat on enough hiring committees in his 14 years at the university to appreciate the role diversity statements play. They’re important, he said, because they ensure minority-serving institutions like his create environments that align with the inclusive values they say they hold.
In the grand scheme of the hiring process, Cabrera said, they’re a “very minor thing.”
“But that’s kind of the point,” he said, “that even minor things like this are being targeted under the guise of modern-day culture wars.”
