Portland Community College lists 'culturally responsive' CHEMISTRY prof job description

Portland Community College posted a job ad seeking a new "culturally responsive" chemistry instructor.

In addition to the educational requirements in the ad, the college listed some specific qualities that successful candidates must exhibit.

Portland Community College is hiring a “culturally responsive” chemistry instructor who has the “ability” to develop a “culturally responsive curriculum.”


According to the job posting, the position is meant to “diversify the college’s faculty and advance our efforts towards achieving equitable student success.” The ideal candidate is supposed to be aware “of their own cultural background and how it influences perception, values, and practices and how these perceptions, values, and practices shape their teaching and relationship to students.”


In addition, the ideal candidate is supposed to understand “structural privileges/inequalities and how they impact educational practices; empowers learners to analyze and overcome the effect of institutional bias/inequality.”


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The posting also requests that those who apply understand the differences “between prejudice, discrimination, and racism and how they operate at the interpersonal, intergroup, and institutional levels.”


Chance Layton, the director of communications for the National Association of Scholars, told Campus Reform that he has one question for Portland Community College: “Why does this matter?


In what ways would these ‘qualifications’ help educate students?’” explained Layton. “Colleges and universities ought to hire staff that are competent, and that decision should be made entirely on the merits of that individual’s character and resume. The cultural background of a candidate ought to be irrelevant. It’s not a qualification because it’s not earned, it is born into. Most people become upset at the thought of nepotism hires, how is this any different? Not to mention, this position is for a chemistry instructor, not a sociologist. What difference does it make that they know the difference between prejudice, discrimination, and racism?”


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Layton also said that the job description is filled with “left-leaning buzzwords.”


“The first three bullet points, eradicated of left-leaning buzzwords and desires, could be better summed up as: Applicants must be functioning members of society.” 


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