MIT becomes first elite school to eliminate diversity and inclusion hiring requirement

The Massachusetts Institute of Technology became the first elite university to get rid of its "Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion" criteria in its hiring requirements, after the university's president claimed that it does not work. 

MIT previously required candidates hoping to join its faculty to provide a statement that shows they understand the "challenges related to diversity, equity, and inclusion," and describe their "track record of working with diverse groups of people." They were also required to demonstrate how they plan to advance DEI in their position at the school. But a 2023 poll found that a large majority of the school's faculty and students were afraid to express their views, according to Fox News.

The university confirmed that it was removing the DEI criteria on Sunday, claiming it would no longer request a diversity statement when hiring faculty. The decision was made by university President Sally Hornbluth, and supported by all six academic deans, the school's chancellor, and provost.

"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."

Although MIT is now the first of the elite schools to remove its DEI criteria, a professor at Harvard Law School has urged his campus to do the same, claiming it makes faculty and students toe a "political line."

"I am a scholar on the left committed to struggles for social justice," Randall Kennedy wrote in an op-ed for the Harvard Crimson. "The realities surrounding mandatory DEI statements, however, make me wince. The practice of demanding them ought to be abandoned, both at Harvard and beyond."

Ivy league schools like Princeton and Columbia University still require DEI statements. But Princeton University touts its diversity statement as “an opportunity for you to highlight the ways you would advance an institution’s DEI work." At Harvard, applicants must tout their commitment to “advance excellence in diversity, inclusion, equity, and belonging as a teacher and a researcher in higher education," over two to three pages, per the New York Post.