MIT Eliminates Diversity Statement Requirement For Faculty Applicants, Says ‘They Don’t Work’

The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) has announced that it will no longer require diversity statements from prospective faculty.

According to The Hill, the school said President Sally Kornbluth directed the decision “with the support of the Provost, Chancellor, Vice President for Equity and Inclusion 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 in a statement. 

“We can build an inclusive environment in many ways, but compelled statements impinge on freedom of expression, and they don’t work.”  

This decision comes amid ongoing debates about the effectiveness and implications of diversity statements, with some critics arguing that they could serve as ideological tests for incoming faculty members. The statements are used by many top universities in the country.

Kornbluth, along with Harvard’s and Penn’s former presidents, testified about antisemitism on campus last December. Kornbluth was the only one to keep her job after that.