UW faculty Search Weighed Race Inappropriately

[Wahoo Redux]

IHE: U of Washington Faculty Search Weighed Race Inappropriately

Lower Deck:

A psychology department hiring committee re-ranked finalists to hire a Black candidate over a white person originally rated No. 1, violating policy, a report concludes.

I kind of feel sorry for the prof in question, who did nothing wrong.

[marshwiggle]

IHE: U of Washington Faculty Search Weighed Race Inappropriately

Lower Deck:

A psychology department hiring committee re-ranked finalists to hire a Black candidate over a white person originally rated No. 1, violating policy, a report concludes.

I kind of feel sorry for the prof in question, who did nothing wrong.

Some pretty damning stuff:

The report, which redacts all the names of those involved, suggests that faculty members tried to hide the extent to which race was considered, including in the hiring report.


"I advise deleting the statement below as it shows that URM [underrepresented minority] applications were singled out and evaluated differently than non-URM applications (which is not allowed as [redacted] noted)," one email read, according to the report.

Before finalists were narrowed to three, five finalists were invited to virtual visits, with the schedules including meetings with the Women Faculty and Faculty of Color groups. But a member of the latter group expressed opposition to meeting the white candidates.

"As a person who has been on both sides of the table for these meetings, I have really appreciated them," the unnamed person wrote in an email. "Buuut, when the candidate is White, it is just awkward. The last meeting was uncomfortable, and I would go as far as burdensome for me. Can we change the policy to not do these going forward with White faculty?"

And the karmic result:

The university announced on its website that the psychology department is now "barred from conducting searches for tenured and tenure-track faculty positions" for at least two years, "subject to review by the Provost's Office." It also said the department will "undergo a comprehensive review and revision of its hiring processes," and all department members "will receive training on how to conduct searches consistent with law and policy."

Now THAT sounds like proper DEI training.

[Dismal]

The faculty should also learn to rely on email less for certain types of discussions. Phone.