Why Harvard Can t Fire Claudine Gay – WSJ

Anyone suggesting that Ms. Gay deserves the same treatment as Ms. Magill stands accused of racism by liberal elites who maintain that all black people not named Clarence Thomas are off-limits to criticism. The head of the NAACP, Derrick Johnson, insisted that disapproval of Ms. Gay s leadership is nothing more than political theatrics advancing a white supremacist agenda. More than 80 black faculty members at Harvard signed a letter stating that any suggestion that her selection as president was the result of a process that elevated an unqualified person based on considerations of race and gender are specious and politically motivated.

Ms. Gay s defenders pretend that her qualifications for the job are indisputable and that her being hired had nothing to do with race. That s baloney and they know it. Bill Ackman, the hedge-fund manager and Harvard megadonor who has led calls for her ouster, said he was told that the search committee that chose Ms. Gay would not consider a candidate who did not meet the DEI office s criteria, using the acronym for diversity, equity and inclusion. There is little reason to doubt him.

That universities take race into account to fill job openings might be the worst-kept secret in academia. As CNN s Fareed Zakaria put it recently, a white man studying the American presidency does not have a prayer of getting tenure at a major history department in America today. Hiring for new faculty positions, particularly in humanities departments, now appears to center on the race and gender of the applicant, as well as the subject matter, which needs to be about marginalized groups.

via www.wsj.com

Jason L. Riley.