Catholic universities remove DEI job requirement after Campus Reform inquiry
While Campus Reform did not receive any responses from any of the contacted parties, less than 24 hours later, the requirement was removed from the university’s employment website.
Two Benedictine colleges in Minnesota removed DEI requirements from a job listing for a visiting assistant professor after Campus Reform inquired about the post.
Saint John’s University in Collegeville and the College of Saint Benedict in St. Joseph are sister schools that jointly posted the job advertisement for Visiting Assistant Professor - Political Science that listed “Demonstrated commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion” under “Required” qualifications.
On Oct. 27 at approximately 3:30pm, Campus Reform reached out to school administration, members of the CSB/SJU Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Justice (DEIJ) Advisory Board, as well as the Senior Diversity Officer, Sandra Mitchell for comment.
[RELATED: UVA to end DEI practices in agreement reached with Trump administration]
While Campus Reform did not receive any responses from any of the contacted parties, less than 24 hours later, the requirement was removed from the university’s employment website by Oct. 28 at approximately 5:00 p.m.
Screenshot of original posting.
Screenshot of updated posting.
The CSB/SJU College Democrats told Campus Reform in a statement attributed to the organization that, “Mirroring the values of the College of Saint Benedict and Saint John’s University, we also believe in cultivating an equitable, inclusive community founded on respect for all persons.”
Critics of DEI argue that its principles foster division and resentment between groups and undermine merit-based systems for grading, admissions, hiring, and curriculum design.
Campus Reform maintains a DEI tracker with the latest DEI state bans that prohibit public universities from imposing equity-driven classes and programming on students and staff. To date, 22 states have passed DEI bans and an lawmakers in another 12 have introduced similar legislation.
Campus Reform contacted the College of Saint Benedict, Saint John’s University, the CSB/SJU DEIJ Advisory Board, CSB/SJU College Republicans, as well as faculty members of the political science department for comment. This article will be updated accordingly.
