The Atlantic: "Professors Need the Power to Fire Diversity Bureaucrats"

[Wahoo Redux]

The title of this piece kind of says it.

[marshwiggle]

The title of this piece kind of says it.

The unspoken assumption is that disciplining a scholar for, say, an offensive tweet will help young people from marginalized backgrounds. It's an assumption that too many universities simply accept and too few feel any need to study or measure, let alone prove.

Student activists respond to that incentive. They reframe ideological disagreements as emotional traumas or "unsafe" climates.

Georgetown Law Dean William M. Treanor declared in a statement that he was guided in the Shapiro matter "by two overarching principles." The first was the law school's "dedication to speech and expression," while "the second and equally important principle was our dedication to building a culture of equity and inclusion." When free speech and "building a culture of equity and inclusion" are on equal footing, the implication is that, when they conflict, free speech can sometimes lose. Treanor's formulation leaves employees without any way of knowing exactly where the lines are.

That last statement is key; an institution (or individual) can only have one top priority, by definition. Pretending to have two equally important ones is dishonest.

[mahagonny]

What would happen if voters, taxpayers or state legislatures had the power to abolish the entire diversity staff?

[Sun_Worshiper]

I'd love to have the power to fire all sorts of university admins

[mahagonny]

I'd love to have the power to fire all sorts of university admins

Why would that be? Are they not woke enough? Or something else? Maybe there are just too many of them. I could buy into that.

[Wahoo Redux]

Mahag's back!!!!

[Sun_Worshiper]

I'd love to have the power to fire all sorts of university admins

Why would that be? Are they not woke enough? Or something else? Maybe there are just too many of them. I could buy into that.

As far as I can tell, there are too many of them, it is not clear what they do or how it contributes to educating students, and there are few accountability mechanisms. Wokeness has nothing to do with it and in fact there is no army of "diversity bureaucrats" that I have ever encountered.

[Anon1787]

I'd love to have the power to fire all sorts of university admins

Wouldn't we all!

[mahagonny]

I'd love to have the power to fire all sorts of university admins

Why would that be? Are they not woke enough? Or something else? Maybe there are just too many of them. I could buy into that.

As far as I can tell, there are too many of them, it is not clear what they do or how it contributes to educating students, and there are few accountability mechanisms. Wokeness has nothing to do with it and in fact there is no army of "diversity bureaucrats" that I have ever encountered.

Well, how many would it take to make an army? In my estimate, only a few if they all promote the same reading list and all answer every question exactly the same way, that is, when questions are even allowed.
We agree that "there are too many of them, it is not clear what they do or how it contributes to educating students, and there are few accountability mechanisms." But I might prefer an administrator being present whose benefits to anyone are doubtful to one who in my view does harm to the culture.

[marshwiggle]

I'd love to have the power to fire all sorts of university admins

Why would that be? Are they not woke enough? Or something else? Maybe there are just too many of them. I could buy into that.

As far as I can tell, there are too many of them, it is not clear what they do or how it contributes to educating students, and there are few accountability mechanisms.

Those are exactly the problems with the DIE coordinators, directors, etc.

Wokeness has nothing to do with it and in fact there is no army of "diversity bureaucrats" that I have ever encountered.

It actually goes far beyond educational institutions. There are constant announcements by governments, organizations and institutions of creating new positions like this with vary little clarity in what exactly this means. (Without a clear understanding of any specific problem that needs to be addressed, it's basically a solution waiting for a problem.
"To someone who only has a hammer, every problem is a nail.")

[Sun_Worshiper]

I'd love to have the power to fire all sorts of university admins

Why would that be? Are they not woke enough? Or something else? Maybe there are just too many of them. I could buy into that.

As far as I can tell, there are too many of them, it is not clear what they do or how it contributes to educating students, and there are few accountability mechanisms. Wokeness has nothing to do with it and in fact there is no army of "diversity bureaucrats" that I have ever encountered.

Well, how many would it take to make an army? In my estimate, only a few if they all promote the same reading list and all answer every question exactly the same way, that is, when questions are even allowed.
We agree that "there are too many of them, it is not clear what they do or how it contributes to educating students, and there are few accountability mechanisms." But I might prefer an administrator being present whose benefits to anyone are doubtful to one who in my view does harm to the culture.

This does not exist at my state flagship. There is no reading list and nobody restricting questions or telling any professors how to answer questions. Maybe at your school, which sounds unusual based on the way you have described it in various threads, but not mine.

I'd love to have the power to fire all sorts of university admins

Why would that be? Are they not woke enough? Or something else? Maybe there are just too many of them. I could buy into that.

As far as I can tell, there are too many of them, it is not clear what they do or how it contributes to educating students, and there are few accountability mechanisms.

Those are exactly the problems with the DIE coordinators, directors, etc.

Wokeness has nothing to do with it and in fact there is no army of "diversity bureaucrats" that I have ever encountered.

It actually goes far beyond educational institutions. There are constant announcements by governments, organizations and institutions of creating new positions like this with vary little clarity in what exactly this means. (Without a clear understanding of any specific problem that needs to be addressed, it's basically a solution waiting for a problem.
"To someone who only has a hammer, every problem is a nail.")

Ok, but this thread and my post are about universities, not governments or whatever non-educational institutions you have in mind here. To quote the thread title, as a professor, how would I have the power to fire people in these institutions that I don't work in?

[mahagonny]

I'd love to have the power to fire all sorts of university admins

Why would that be? Are they not woke enough? Or something else? Maybe there are just too many of them. I could buy into that.

As far as I can tell, there are too many of them, it is not clear what they do or how it contributes to educating students, and there are few accountability mechanisms.

Those are exactly the problems with the DIE coordinators, directors, etc.

Wokeness has nothing to do with it and in fact there is no army of "diversity bureaucrats" that I have ever encountered.

It actually goes far beyond educational institutions. There are constant announcements by governments, organizations and institutions of creating new positions like this with vary little clarity in what exactly this means. (Without a clear understanding of any specific problem that needs to be addressed, it's basically a solution waiting for a problem.
"To someone who only has a hammer, every problem is a nail.")

I had a dream all the diversity staff went on strike. The next day I went outdoors and everyone looked identical.

That's the reason they have created the belief that any instance of harm done to a black person by a white person of some authority indicates widespread societal anti-black racism that must be lurking deep in the psyche of each one of us. You can't sell solutions without first having a perception of a big problem.

This does not exist at my state flagship. There is no reading list and nobody restricting questions or telling any professors how to answer questions. Maybe at your school, which sounds unusual based on the way you have described it in various threads, but not mine.

No 'diversity, inclusion and equity' training offered or also required, or considered for promotion, grants or other opportunities? Your school sound unusual.

In my school the DEI staff basically hover over any grant opportunities and if you want a grant, you'll be singing their refrains as loud as you can or you won't get one. I'd be absolutely amazed if that weren't getting common. As far as coming to work, keeping your head down, and keeping a vigilant watch on your thoughts and speech to guard against 'micraggressions' and just punching in without thinking of promotion or professional development that probably still mostly works.

[marshwiggle]

It actually goes far beyond educational institutions. There are constant announcements by governments, organizations and institutions of creating new positions like this with vary little clarity in what exactly this means. (Without a clear understanding of any specific problem that needs to be addressed, it's basically a solution waiting for a problem.
"To someone who only has a hammer, every problem is a nail.")

Ok, but this thread and my post are about universities, not governments or whatever non-educational institutions you have in mind here. To quote the thread title, as a professor, how would I have the power to fire people in these institutions that I don't work in?

My point was just that these positions are getting created all over the place, including, but definitely not limited to, educational institutions. They're not rare at all, and probably a decade ago there were essentially zero.

[Sun_Worshiper]

I'd love to have the power to fire all sorts of university admins

Why would that be? Are they not woke enough? Or something else? Maybe there are just too many of them. I could buy into that.

As far as I can tell, there are too many of them, it is not clear what they do or how it contributes to educating students, and there are few accountability mechanisms.

Those are exactly the problems with the DIE coordinators, directors, etc.

Wokeness has nothing to do with it and in fact there is no army of "diversity bureaucrats" that I have ever encountered.

It actually goes far beyond educational institutions. There are constant announcements by governments, organizations and institutions of creating new positions like this with vary little clarity in what exactly this means. (Without a clear understanding of any specific problem that needs to be addressed, it's basically a solution waiting for a problem.
"To someone who only has a hammer, every problem is a nail.")

I had a dream all the diversity staff went on strike. The next day I went outdoors and everyone looked identical.

That's the reason they have created the belief that any harm done to a black person by a white person of some authority indicates widespread societal anti-black racism that must be present in some amount deep in the psyche of each one of us. You can't sell solutions without first having a perception of a big problem.

This does not exist at my state flagship. There is no reading list and nobody restricting questions or telling any professors how to answer questions. Maybe at your school, which sounds unusual based on the way you have described it in various threads, but not mine.

No 'diversity, inclusion and equity' training offered or also required? Your school sound unusual.

Not required for faculty (not sure about staff), although when I first started I vaguely remember a five minute online video about sexual harassment, which seems like a far cry from the reading and approved questions lists that you are so wound up about. And I bet my university is more typical than you think (certainly it is a very mainstream US public in most regards).

[mahagonny]

I can't read the article. I'm not going to subscribe to the Atlantic. I'll check it out when I get back on campus. thank you for the link, Wahoo.

Off the top of my head, it seems like quite a long shot to imagine college professors firing diversity bureaucrats even if there is some mechanism so that they could. Not when something like 90% are liberal. The two groups are mutually reinforcing politically.
There are some voices of reason and sanity who feel secure enough to speak up, for example Glenn Loury at Brown University, Wilfred Reilly at Kentucky State (Carol Swain thinks he's taking a big chance) and John McWhorter.
It seems to me that if the DEI great thinkers and their goons are going to be reigned in the dynamic will come from outside.