The University of Michigan will no longer ask for diversity statements from faculty when considering hiring, promotion or tenure, the latest cut to its diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) programs.
The statements, which require a declaration from potential hires on how they will maintain DEI, are solicited from university employers on a case-by-case basis. (Michigan does not have a university-wide policy.)
The New York Times reported that the decision, announced by University provost Laurie McCauley, comes as Michigan’s board of regents is expected to weigh other rollbacks to the university’s DEI initiatives, which are meant to increase diverse enrollment on campus, remove barriers to educational opportunity, among other goals.
Michigan’s DEI programs have come under scrutiny after a Times investigation found that the university had spent a quarter of a billion dollars since 2016 on DEI efforts, 56% of which went to salaries and benefits for DEI staff. But Black student enrollment, for instance, has hovered near 5% for nearly a decade (it’s currently at 6.1%).
Michigan’s regents have since publicly stated that they plan to reassess DEI efforts, including budgetary commitment. The elected, eight-person regents board, made up of mostly Democrats, broadly makes decisions on the university’s finances and policies.
In a press release on the diversity statement decision, McCauley commended the university’s previous work on DEI and pledged to continue examining how such practices are put into place.
“Diversity, equity and inclusion are three of our core values at the university. Our collective efforts in this area have produced important strides in opening opportunities for all people,” she said. “As we pursue this challenging and complex work, we will continuously refine our approach.”
McCauley added: “I’m grateful for this faculty committee, which spent months soliciting feedback from across campus, evaluating our methods and determining the best course forward.”
The University of Michigan did not respond to a request for comment from the Guardian.
In October, an eight-person faculty working group previously recommended that the diversity statement requirement be eliminated. The group, tasked with understanding how faculty diversity statements were used in promotion, criticized the statements as potentially “[limiting] freedom of expression and diversity of thought on campus,” according to a university press release.
Other highly selective universities, including Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and Harvard University’s Faculty of Arts and Sciences, have eliminated their faculty diversity requirements in the past few months.
Michigan’s regents are also considering other cuts to DEI efforts, namely reallocating the university’s DEI budget to shift money towards tuition guarantees for lower-income students and recruitment programs, the Times reported.
Some Michigan community members have warned that changes to Michigan’s DEI program could be more drastic, including a total defunding of DEI efforts. A 20 November letter sent out to Michigan’s faculty senate by chair Rebekah Modrak alleged that the university’s regents held a private meeting in November, without university officials, to discuss rollbacks to DEI.
“Many of us are concerned that the Regents are about to make decisions that stretch beyond their charge (financial oversight of the University) and encroach upon our educational and research missions, negatively impacting students, staff, and faculty and the core values of the University–with those decisions based on politics and personal animus, driven by a conflation of DEI with pro-Palestinian protest,” wrote Modrak.
Such assertions sparked backlash on campus, as Michigan’s faculty and students have largely criticized proposed changes to DEI efforts. Over 500 faculty members and students gathered at a rally on Monday to condemn the rollback of DEI, the Michigan Daily reported, the university’s paper.
“Unlike those who claim DEI here at the University of Michigan has done nothing, my critique is we haven’t done enough,” said Michigan professor Su’ad Abdul Khabeer at the rally. Abdul Khabeer warned that attempts to defund DEI efforts could impact other university programs, such as the LSA Collegiate Fellows.
Modrak’s letter also argued that the Times reporting on the university’s DEI programs is being used by anti-DEI regent members to assert that DEI is failing and should be rolled back.
Michigan’s regents have said they are looking to revise DEI efforts to improve “diversity of thought”. But some Michigan faculty have argued that university regents are reacting out of fear following the election of Donald Trump in November and incoming attacks on university DEI initiatives.
“The Regents have their eyes on what’s happening in Washington,” said Derek Peterson, a professor of history and African studies at the University of Michigan, to the Michigan Daily. “We, in faculty government, would prefer that the Regents saw themselves as representing us and the people of the state rather than bowing prematurely to a government that is likely to be hostile to DEI. … Acquiescing too early, too easily, without protest, is the way that totalitarian governments come to power.”
Trump and other conservatives have long criticized DEI efforts. But since his election in November, Trump has promised a crackdown on DEI programs, including threats to end the funding and accreditation of colleges denoted as the “enemy” as well as to end DEI within federal agencies.
Michigan’s regents will meet Thursday afternoon, where they will likely discuss DEI initiatives on campus, according to the Detroit News, but not take further action on the matter at this time.
