The University of Michigan has eliminated diversity statements from its hiring, promotion, and tenure processes, Provost Laurie McCauley announced Thursday morning. The decision comes hours before the board of regents is expected to weigh changes to the university’s bloated diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) program, a consideration that has spurred protests and intense debate on campus.
The University of Michigan has one of the most aggressive DEI programs in higher education. A New York Times Magazine investigation published in October found that the university's efforts have cost more than a quarter-billion dollars over a 10-year period. More than half of that was spent on salaries and benefits for DEI staff.
"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," McCauley wrote in a statement Thursday. "As we pursue this challenging and complex work, we will continuously refine our approach."
The provost's decision follows an eight-member faculty working group’s Oct. 31 recommendation to end the statements, arguing that they limit free expression and diversity of thought.
"Critics of diversity statements perceive them as expressions of personal identity traits, support of specific ideology or opinions on socially-relevant issues, and serve as a ‘litmus test’ of whether a faculty member’s views are politically acceptable," the group wrote. "Thus, as currently enacted, diversity statements have the potential to limit viewpoints and reduce diversity of thought among faculty members."
McCauley did not enact two of the group's DEI-friendly recommendations. In those cases, the group called to incorporate "content about DEI" into faculty teaching and research statements and provide training on how to craft those statements.
Ahead of her decision, regents said they expected the board would vote to limit diversity statements in addition to rethinking the overall DEI budget. One consideration would be to shuffle funding from DEI officials’ salaries to recruitment programs or tuition coverage for low-income students.
"It is my hope that our efforts in DEI focus on redirecting funding directly to students and away from a bloated administrative bureaucracy," Mark Bernstein, a Democratic regent, told the New York Times.
The proposed changes to the DEI program were met with discord on campus. Faculty hosted a "Rally to Protect Funding for Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion" that attracted hundreds of protesters on Monday. Reviews of the University of Michigan’s DEI programming, however, have been mixed among both faculty and students, surveys have shown.
Other universities in recent months have also stopped requiring diversity statements in hiring, including Harvard University and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. President-elect Donald Trump has pledged to crackdown on DEI programs, which at least a dozen states have already banned or limited.
The University of Michigan referred the Washington Free Beacon to its announcement when asked for comment.