Are DEI Mandates for University Faculties a Bad Idea?

In recent years, America’s colleges and universities have begun to adopt Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion, or DEI, as a core value. As part of this push, colleges include criteria of DEI expectations in tenure standards, and getting hired or promoted requires personal, detailed statements. Are these statements, created with good intentions, devaluing merit-based evaluation and replacing viewpoint diversity with a “loyalty oath”? Those who agree say the evaluation rubrics demerit professors who may not embrace a specific agenda, which can harm freedom of speech and academic freedom. Those who disagree argue it’s fair for faculty to be asked about DEI when those values are embedded in a school’s mission. They insist that these statements are not intended to push an ideological viewpoint, but to focus on and reward actions. With this background, we debate the question: “Are DEI Mandates for University Faculties a Bad Idea?”