Georgia’s public universities can no longer require job applicants to submit a diversity statement, prompting schools to revise faculty hiring practices.
The University System of Georgia in July issued a new employee recruitment policy barring such statements, typically one-to-two-page documents in which applicants describe their understanding of diversity and detail experiences and goals related to advancing it. Another revised human resources policy states that mandatory employee training cannot include diversity statements.
The University System pointed to language approved in the spring by the Georgia Board of Regents as the trigger for the prohibition.
“The Board of Regents in April released a statement of principles regarding academic freedom and freedom of expression that, among other things, affirmed that the University System of Georgia values the diversity of intellectual thought and expression among students and faculty as well as the need for faculty to be unburdened by ideological tests, affirmations and oaths,” the system said in a statement in response to questions from The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
Georgia’s new language around hiring comes amid broader questioning of campus diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) efforts.
The Georgia Professional Standards Commission earlier this year removed references to “diversity” and “equity” from its rules that guide colleges that train prospective teachers, saying such terms are “ambiguous.”
This summer, Chancellor Sonny Perdue produced a report detailing millions of dollars of spending on DEI salaries and programs after Lt. Gov. Burt Jones asked how much such efforts cost Georgia’s 26 public colleges and universities. Jones has voiced concern about using taxpayer dollars to promote “divisive concepts like DEI.”
Two-thirds of University System instructional faculty members are white, compared to 45% of all students, according to fall 2022 data.
DEI work on University System campuses — which includes recruitment, retention, mentoring and other efforts — doesn’t just support students based on their race and ethnicity. The programs also assist first-generation, low-income, LGBTQ, veteran and other underrepresented students.
Nationally, diversity statements have become more commonplace in faculty searches, though recently some universities, including Arizona’s public schools, have moved to scrub them from job postings.
Proponents say the statements help colleges understand how a professor would support students from diverse backgrounds and help them learn. Critics contend the statements are used to screen candidates based on political ideologies.
It’s unclear how many of Georgia’s public universities required diversity statements or how often. The University System doesn’t track their use. And several of the largest schools either didn’t answer that question or said they didn’t keep statistics.
In an email, University of Georgia spokesman Greg Trevor said, “We have informed the campus of the new policy and are working to ensure that the university meets the requirements by the October 1 compliance deadline.”
Georgia Tech is reviewing recruitment procedures and employee training to ensure compliance, said spokesman Blair Meeks. The school is committed to “fostering a sense of community where all have an opportunity to grow, develop, innovate and thrive,” he said.
Kennesaw State University said it “adheres to all USG policies and state policies and standards.”
All three universities have incorporated diversity statements into previous job ads, online postings show.
A 2022 job posting for a tenure-track mechanical engineering faculty position at Georgia Tech, for example, told applicants they should submit “a statement describing their understanding of prior engagement in and plans for future activities to support DEI” in addition to their curriculum vitae and a statement about their research interests, among other materials.
Summer Blanco, a third-year doctorate student in UGA’s plant biology department, said asking candidates to provide diversity statements was “a step in the right direction” when it comes to supporting and empowering marginalized students and those of color.
“It’s been really scary to see how silent our institution has been around this topic, around this huge policy change,” she said.
She was inspired by professors she met while earning her undergraduate degree from California State Polytechnic University, designated by the U.S. Department of Education as a Hispanic-Serving Institution because of the percentage of Hispanic students it enrolls.
“I have had Latinx professors who have really uplifted me, who have really supported me when I’ve been struggling,” Blanco said. “They’ve made me feel seen in the classroom.”
A 2022 survey of nearly 1,500 university faculty from across the nation found about half thought that making job seekers turn in diversity, equity and inclusion statements with their applications was a justifiable requirement. The other half viewed it as “an ideological litmus test that violates academic freedom,” according to the survey from the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression (FIRE).
More female faculty supported the practice, as did the majority of liberal professors. About 90% of conservative faculty and 56% of moderate faculty “see them as political litmus tests,” the report found.
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