Blue State College Requires Diversity Statement For Applicants To ‘Conservative Thought’ Job

Blue State College Requires Diversity Statement For Applicants To ‘Conservative Thought’ Job

Brandon Poulter on August 18, 2023

The University of Colorado Boulder (UC Boulder) is offering a job as a Visiting Scholar in Conservative Thought and Policy that requires a diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) statement to apply, according to its website.

UC Boulder announced the job in the College of Arts and Sciences on Aug. 1 for individuals who are “deeply engaged” in the practice of “conservative thought and policymaking,” and requires a DEI statement to apply to the position, accordingto the website. The university’s website states that it “does not discriminate” on the basis of “political affiliation” or “political philosophy.”

DEI statements are used by universities to determine if an applicant is committed to advancing DEI principles in their work, but they have come under fire in recent months for allegedly being unconstitutional. Multiple states, including Florida and West Virginia, have attempted to ban them from being considered in university hiring.

A “key responsibility” of the position will be to “continue an open and vigorous dialogue on campus featuring the principles of conservatism in historical and contemporary contexts,” the application reads.

A February survey by the Foundation for Individual Right and Expression, an organization that focuses on free speech, found that nearly half of university professors disapprove of diversity statements and say they are a “political litmus test” that violates academic freedom.

UC Boulder did not immediately respond to the Daily Caller News Foundation’s request for comment.