Topline The University of California announced Wednesday that it is eliminating the requirement for diversity statements in its campus hiring process, following the Trump administration’s threats to withhold federal funding from institutions that continue to operate diversity, equity, and inclusion programs.
Key Facts
According to the Los Angeles Times, the change was announced by the university’s provost executive vice president for academic affairs, Katherine Newman, in a letter written to academic administrators across UC’s many campuses.
Newman’s letter said the requirement to submit a diversity statement “may lead applicants to focus on an aspect of their candidacy that is outside their expertise or prior experience.”
The provost said UC can continue to “effectively serve our communities from a variety of life experiences, backgrounds, and points of view,” without requiring people to submit diversity statements.
Under the diversity statement requirement, campus job applicants were required to submit essays on the work they have done to support diversity efforts in their field and how they intend to contribute to campus diversity.
At a meeting of the university’s regents on Wednesday, UC President Michael Drake highlighted concerns about the university’s finances, noting that they were preparing for an 8% state budget cut and the looming threat of a federal funding cut, the New York Times reported.
What Has The Trump Administration Said About Dei In Educational Institutes?
Last month, the Department of Education’s Office of Civil Rights issued a letter accusing educational institutions of discriminating against students “on the basis of race, including white and Asian students, many of whom come from disadvantaged backgrounds and low-income families.”
The letter also claimed that institutions had “toxically indoctrinated students with the false premise that the United States is built upon’ systemic and structural racism.'” The agency said that it intends to perform evaluations, and “institutions that fail to comply with federal civil rights law may, consistent with applicable law, face potential loss of federal funding.”
What do we know about federal investigations against UC?
Earlier this month, the Justice Department stated that it had initiated a civil rights inquiry into suspected antisemitism at the institution as a result of pro-Palestinian rallies related to the Gaza conflict. The Department of Justice said that its inquiry will “assess whether UC has engaged in a pattern or practice of discrimination based on race, religion and national origin against its professors, staff and other employees by allowing an Antisemitic hostile work environment to exist on its campuses.”
The Los Angeles Police Department detained hundreds of students during protests against the war in Gaza on the UCLA campus. The arrests came soon after violence broke out at the demonstrators’ encampments, when counter-protesters dressed in black and masks invaded the campus, attacking protesters with bear mace, pepper spray, and fireworks.
Tangent
Earlier this month, the Education Department canceled $400 million in federal funds and contracts for Columbia University due to the school’s “continued inaction in the face of persistent harassment of Jewish students.” According to the department’s statement, additional schools risk losing government funds if they continue to allow “illegal protests” and fail to safeguard students from antisemitic abuse.