The provost and senior vice president for academic affairs at Rochester Institute of Technology brags today in Inside Higher Ed about how his institution violates Title VII of the 1964 Civil Rights Act. I hope someone sues RIT, or at least that RIT’s general counsel takes a look at this, in light of Title VII, which makes it illegal to weigh race, ethnicity, and sex in hiring and promotion decisions, and to sort applicants on that basis.
This is therefore illegal: “Or if you have an opening for a dean position and are going through a search process, you might consider asking a qualified woman to step in as interim — something I’ve done on two occasions at RIT.” Clearly the suggestion is that you look for a woman to appoint, not just that you be willing to appoint one if she is the best qualified. It is likewise illegal to tell a hiring committee that it has to meet a racial/gender quota in sorting applicants into a finalist selection pool, as the author also recommends.
Finally, there’s this: “In other words, if you have to choose between two equally qualified candidates, choose the one who brings diversity to your college or university.” In the first place, and as a practical matter, “diversity” policies inevitably result in people getting hired who are not just marginally less qualified but substantially less qualified. Moreover, how often can it be said that there is no difference between two competing candidates? This is just an excuse for discrimination. But, in the rare instance where there is a tie, then the decisionmaker should flip a coin. Would anyone dispute that a policy of tie-goes-to-the-white-male would be discriminatory?
More here: https://www.nas.org/articles/A…