In light of recent political efforts to restrict or ban DEI initiatives in higher education, the American Association of University Professors (AAUP), a nonprofit organization of faculty and other academic professionals dedicated to advancing academic freedom and shared governance, has recently released a statement urging institutions to protect diversity, equity, and inclusion research and teaching in academia.
The statement stresses the importance of creating policies dedicated to recruiting and retaining diverse faculty and student bodies. The authors highlight that any decisions regarding faculty DEI policy development should be the responsibility of the faculty, rather than unilateral administrative or partisan political action.
The statement also supports the use of appropriate strategies aimed at achieving diverse and equitable campus communities, including faculty assessments, and subsequently “rejects the notion that the use of DEI criteria for faculty evaluation is categorically incompatible with academic freedom. To the contrary, when implemented appropriately in accordance with sound standards of faculty governance, DEI criteria — including DEI statements — can be a valuable component in the efforts to recruit, hire, and retain a diverse faculty with a breadth of skills needed for excellence in teaching, research, and service.”
The authors encourage colleges and universities to “fund, protect, and publicize research in all fields that contributes to the common good and responds more widely to the needs of a diverse public. This includes teaching and research, currently under threat, that is rooted in humanistic inquiry and activist intellectual traditions such as Black studies, Indigenous studies, ethnic studies, gender and sexuality studies, and allied disciplines.”
The full statement, “Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Criteria for Faculty Evaluation,” can be read here.
