The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) announced on Monday that it will no longer require diversity statements from prospective professors.
The school said the decision was made by President Sally Kornbluth “with the support of the Provost, the Chancellor, the Vice President for Equity and Inclusion and all six academic deans.”
“My goals are to harness the full range of human talent, bring the best to MIT, and ensure they thrive once they are here,” Kornbluth said in a statement.
“We can build an inclusive environment in many ways, but forced statements undermine freedom of expression and do not work.”
The decision comes at a time when statements about faculty diversity have long been criticized by conservatives, who label them tests of ideological viewpoints for new professors. The statements are used by many of the country’s top universities.
MIT has been in the spotlight after Kornbluth testified alongside the former presidents of Harvard University and the University of Pennsylvania last December about anti-Semitism on campus. Kornbluth was the only one who kept her job after the hearing.
Those in favor of diversity statements say it is important to ensure that a faculty member is able to reach every student with whom he or she interacts.
This story originally appeared on thehill.com read the full story
