Study shows widespread use of DEI statements in faculty hiring
Researchers found that 22.3 percent of 2024–25 faculty job ads required Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) statements, with coastal universities and private institutions leading the trend.
The study noted most ads emphasized demographic diversity, with only 15.6 percent mentioning viewpoint diversity.
A new report has revealed that Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) statements remain a significant feature of faculty hiring.
The report was published by Heterodox Academy on July 25.
Analyzing more than 10,000 job ads running during the 2024-2025 academic year, researchers found that 22.3 percent required DEI statements or similar materials. Private institutions requested them at a rate of 28.6 percent, which is higher than public institutions’ 19 percent.
Coastal public universities requested DEI statements at far higher rates than those in the Midwest and Southeast. STEM fields showed similar rates to humanities and social sciences—25.5 percent, 23.5 percent, and 24.8 percent, respectively.
[RELATED: UMD renames diversity office to ‘Belonging & Community’ as DEI programs face pressure]
“DEI statement requests take remarkably varied forms,” the publishers described. “[I]n states with bans on the use of DEI statements in faculty hiring at public institutions, it appears that some public institutions have adapted by asking applicants to give DEI-related information in cover letters, teaching philosophies, and other application materials.”
The study noted that only 15.6 percent of DEI-related ads referenced viewpoint diversity, suggesting an overwhelming focus on demographic factors.
Regarding DEI initiatives, Heterodox Academy asserted in its report that “academics should be judged on the quality of their scholarship and teaching and not by their ideologies.”
The organization is a nonpartisan membership network of faculty, staff, and students dedicated to advancing open inquiry, viewpoint diversity, and constructive disagreement.
A Feb. 14 notice from the Department of Education warned universities that they may lose federal funding if they retain DEI programs.
“Discrimination on the basis of race, color, or national origin is illegal and morally reprehensible,” reads the letter. “In recent years, American educational institutions have discriminated against students on the basis of race, including white and Asian students, many of whom come from disadvantaged backgrounds and low-income families.”
“Proponents of these discriminatory practices have attempted to further justify them—particularly during the last four years—under the banner of ‘ diversity, equity, and inclusion’ (‘DEI’), smuggling racial stereotypes and explicit race-consciousness into everyday training, programming, and discipline,” it continues.
As the Trump administration continues its crackdown on the controversial policy, schools such as Kansas State University, Wake Forest University, and the University of Pennsylvania Carey Law School have recently removed or restructured DEI initiatives.
Campus Reform has contacted Heterodox Academy for comment. This article will be updated accordingly.
