Life science jobs at Berkeley give precedence to candidates diversity and inclusion statements « Why Evolution Is True

We ve recently been discussing the use of mandatory diversity statements for academic job candidates, and the University of California s commitment to not just using them in all searches, but giving these statements precedence in the hiring process, so that if your statement doesn t exceed a minimum numerical cutoff for promoting diversity, increasing it in your past, and promulgating it in the future should you be hired, your candidacy is terminated (see here and here). This practice of making candidates not only swear fealty to diversity, but also show a history of concerted efforts to increase it, has been controversial, deemed as a form of ideological/political conformity that doesn t belong in a hiring process.

A document from the University of California tells us how the system worked in six searches in the life sciences, and I find it a bit disturbing disturbing because the ideology and social engineering is clear, because candidates, however good in scholarship, were eliminated if their diversity statements fell below a specified cutoff, and disturbing because the only kind of diversity involved was racial and gender diversity. But we know that that is what people mean when they talk about diversity .  Ideological, class, and background diversity are irrelevant.

via whyevolutionistrue.wordpress.com

My family and my sister’s family have recently become Cal parents, meaning we each sent kids to Berkeley. We in the Jamul branch of the hopefully soon to be expanding Smith empire did so mainly for financial reasons. UC Berkeley is still a lot cheaper than say Brown or Haverford or wherever. But good Lord do they ever try to stuff your kids full of communism. Ok, that’s putting a bit strong, but you know what I mean. My kids came out Democrats, but it wasn’t for want of trying to turn them little goose-stepping commies. I was a Democrat too at their age. One can only hope. Did I mention that son no. 3 is I forget his exact title but it’s impressive — in the Andrew Yang campaign? I did? Well, he is and bully for him.