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ERIC Number: ED635770
Record Type: Non-Journal
Publication Date: 2023
Pages: 61
Abstractor: ERIC
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: N/A
EISSN: N/A
Diversity Statement, Then Dossier: The Rise of DEI Cluster Hiring in Higher Education
John Sailer
National Association of Scholars
American higher education has recently embraced a new tool for advancing its commitment to "diversity, equity, and inclusion" (DEI). Many colleges and universities are now engaged in "DEI cluster hiring," a practice which ultimately embodies higher education's turn toward political and social activism. Unfortunately, it has become a tool of choice for many universities across the United States. "Cluster hiring" is not itself new. DEI cluster hiring appropriates an established form of faculty recruitment that has a long history, especially in the natural sciences, where it meant the coordinated hiring of faculty members in several departments to work on a shared research topic. This older form of cluster hiring made and still makes sense because contemporary scientific research can require the combination of several kinds of expertise. In order to achieve its stated goals, DEI cluster hiring must include a host of additional interventions--in particular, a heavy reliance on diversity statements and a narrow focus on ethnicity or the themes of identity politics. These additional interventions transform cluster hiring into a means to embed DEI further into the fabric of the university, by creating dozens, and sometimes hundreds, of new faculty positions focused solely on diversity, equity, and inclusion. In this report, the author seeks to explain the phenomenon of DEI cluster hiring, demonstrate its widespread practice throughout academia, and highlight the dangers of the practice. Ultimately, DEI cluster hiring signals the total reorientation of the university's function from the pursuit of truth to the pursuit of political and social transformation.
National Association of Scholars. 221 Witherspoon Street 2nd Floor, Princeton, NJ 08542-3215. Tel: 609-683-7878; e-mail: nasonweb@nas.org; Web site: http://www.nas.org/
Publication Type: Reports - Descriptive
Education Level: Higher Education; Postsecondary Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: National Association of Scholars (NAS)
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A