In 2024, I was honored to deliver the Roscoe Pound Lecture at the University of Nebraska College of Law. The article based on that lecture is now in print, and until the Nebraska Law Review updates its website with the contents of issue 4 of volume 103 you can find a PDF of the article here.
The article is called "Diversity Statements, Academic Freedom, and the First Amendment." From the abstract:
Diversity statements have become a common component of applications for faculty positions and student admission at universities across the country. They have also become politically controversial, with several states banning the use of such requirements at public universities. The use of diversity statements also raises difficult constitutional questions under the First Amendment at public universities and academic freedom questions at both public and private universities. Although there are versions of such statements that might pass constitutional muster, as commonly designed and implemented the use of diversity statements likely violates both First Amendment and academic freedom principles. Indeed, diversity statement requirements for faculty hiring are inconsistent with multiple lines of constitutional doctrine.
