The University of Massachusetts Boston quietly removed a requirement that prospective faculty formally commit to diversity, equity and inclusion when they apply for jobs.
The reversal was hailed as a First Amendment "victory" by a civil liberties nonprofit that lobbied the university to stop the "unconstitutional" requirement.
"Public institutions like the University of Massachusetts Boston are bound by the First Amendment to make hiring decisions in a viewpoint-neutral manner," Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression Program Officer Haley Gluhanich told Fox News.
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"We’re glad the university eventually changed course," Gluhanich added. "But maybe next time, it doesn’t need to take five months of advocacy."
In June, FIRE learned UMass Boston was requiring some faculty applicants to submit statements reflecting their "experience and commitment" to DEI principles, according to a letter the organization sent to Chancellor Marcelo Suárez-Orozco. One of the job listings was for a computer science professor.
Such requirements are a "clear violation of both prospective faculty’s academic freedom and the university’s obligation to uphold the First Amendment," Gluhanich told Fox News in an emailed statement.
"UMass Boston tried dodging the issue for several months," she added, but FIRE "recently discovered that the DEI requirements had finally been removed from the job listings we flagged and that newly posted job listings contained no similar requirements."
A university spokesperson told Fox News "UMass Boston is fully committed to following the best practices guiding recruiting and hiring of faculty."
"We will continue to comply with all applicable employment laws pertaining to the hiring of our faculty and will continue to support our faculty’s Constitutional rights while we embrace our diverse community at UMass Boston," the emailed statement continued.
Fox News checked numerous current job postings and found no DEI statement requirements. But several job descriptions still included boilerplate language stating that the university seeks a colleague who will, among other things, "support our goal of ensuring an inclusive, equitable, and diverse workplace."
Written statements in which a job candidate describes their accomplishments and goals for advancing diversity and equity have become a common requirement for faculty applicants across the country in recent years.
A 2021 American Enterprise Institute survey of 999 academic job postings found that 19% required a diversity statement. That spiked to 28% among elite schools.
Critics of DEI requirements say they serve as an ideological litmus test that helps universities push left-wing ideology.
"Evaluators will all but inevitably abuse discretion to punish views at odds with popular sentiment," FIRE wrote in its original letter to Suárez-Orozco.
The nonprofit warned that the DEI requirement could lead to the university becoming an "echo chamber."
"We trust UMass Boston would readily recognize the problem with requiring faculty applicants to demonstrate a commitment to ‘patriotism,’" FIRE added as an analogy.
FIRE is a nonpartisan group that spent more than 20 years advocating for free expression on college campuses before widening its scope to include fighting for free speech across America.
Other colleges have recently moved to ban DEI statements and politically preferential hiring. The University of North Carolina voted in February to ban DEI statements from admission, hiring, promotion and tenure.
Last year, University of Washington faculty voted down a proposal that would have required tenure and promotion candidates to "reflect on past and planned contributions to diversity, equity, and inclusion."
