On Monday, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) announced that it would no longer ask prospective faculty to submit statements explaining how they would improve diversity as part of their application, The New York Times reports.
According to the Times, Sarah McDonnell, a spokesperson for M.I.T. clarified that the statements were not a campus-wide requirement. She said only some departments chose to ask for the statements.
The statements were typically a page long. Several other universities and colleges throughout the country also ask their prospective faculty to submit similar statements. The statements have received pushback from conservatives.
The Hill says M.I.T. told the outlet that President Sally Kornbluth made the decision “with the support of the Provost, Chancellor, Vice President for Equity and Inclusion, and all six academic deans.”
“My goals are to tap into the full scope of human talent, to bring the very best to MIT, and to make sure they thrive once here,” Kornbluth said in a statement per The Hill.
“We can build an inclusive environment in many ways, but compelled statements impinge on freedom of expression, and they don’t work.”
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