Harvard University has announced that it will no longer require diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) statements from faculty applicants, reversing course after months of criticism from professors and high-profile donors. The elite university will instead ask applicants to submit "service statements" highlighting their efforts to strengthen academic communities.
Harvard University has reversed course on its requirement for diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) statements from faculty applicants, a move that has drawn mixed reactions from academics and anti-DEI activists.
After months of criticism from Harvard professors and high-profile donors, the elite university announced that it would no longer require DEI statements for the Faculty of Arts and Sciences (FAS). Instead, applicants will be asked to send a "service statement," as flagged by Steven McGuire, a fellow at the American Council of Trustees and Alumni.
The original DEI statement required a statement "describing efforts to encourage [DEI] and belonging." Harvard's FAS told Fox News Digital that it has "expanded its approach to learning about candidates being considered for academic appointments by requesting broader and more robust service statements as part of the hiring process."
"In making this decision, the FAS is realigning the hiring process with long-standing criteria for tenured and tenure-track faculty positions," the statement continued. "These criteria include excellence in research, teaching/advising, and service, which are the three pillars of professorial appointments."
Harvard Kennedy School historian Khalil Gibran Muhammad attacked the decision, arguing that the removal of DEI statements from the application process "may discourage applicants who are the strongest supporters of DEI to not apply for a job at Harvard given the broader context for this change," The Boston Globe reported.
Former Harvard Dean Lawrence Summers celebrated the news on Monday. "I am glad to see that Harvard's Faculty of Arts and Science has ended the practice of requiring diversity statements and replaced them with statements on university service," Summers wrote.
"This should represent a major pivot towards emphasis on academic values and away from identity in appointment decisions," he continued, adding that "Harvard is finding its way back towards the right core values."
Anti-DEI activist and Manhattan Institute senior fellow Christopher Rufo called the decision a "small victory" in a post on X Monday. "This is a small victory, but a signal that our campaign is gaining momentum," he wrote. "We will not stop until the entire DEI apparatus is dismantled and salted over."
Harvard's decision follows closely after the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) became the first elite school to remove DEI statements from its faculty hiring process. A university spokesperson told Fox News Digital at the time that "requests for a statement on diversity will no longer be part of applications for any faculty positions at MIT" and added that the decision was made by the school’s president, Sally Kornbluth, with the support of the Provost, Chancellor, 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. "We can build an inclusive environment in many ways, but compelled statements impinge on freedom of expression, and they don’t work."
The debate over DEI statements has intensified in recent months, with critics arguing that they promote discrimination and stifle free speech. Supporters of DEI statements, on the other hand, argue that they are necessary to create a more inclusive and equitable academy.
It remains to be seen whether other universities will follow Harvard's lead and drop DEI statement requirements. However, the decision is a sign that the debate over DEI in higher education is far from over.
