University of California leaders said Wednesday they are removing a one-year-old practice, requiring teacher job seekers to submit “diversity statements” in a move by the Trump administration threatening to revoke federal funding from schools and universities to revoke federal funding for programs to maintain diversity, equity and inclusion.
As part of a job application or promotion, many departments on the UC campus require job seekers to submit a page or two written proof of how they can improve and support racial and other species diversity in their fields. The paper’s request began to appear in some UC applications in the early 2000s and became increasingly popular in the 2010s, causing praise and controversy.
The UC Regents announced the decision when the UCLA convened, which has accused them of discriminating against white, Asian American and Jewish employees and students since a series of federal investigations were launched on UC and other U.S. campuses.
“The requirement to submit a diversity statement may cause applicants to focus on the side of their candidacy that exceeds their expertise or previous experience,” UC Provost and Executive Vice President of Academic Affairs Katherine S. Newman said in a letter to the Provost on Wednesday.
“The Regent said that our values and commitment to mission have not changed,” the letter said. “We can continue to serve our community effectively from a variety of life experiences, contexts and perspectives without the need for a diversity statement.”
She added that while the independent diversity statement in recruitment will “no longer allow”, teachers can still choose to share any “inclusive academic achievement in teaching, research and services” during the academic review process.
Opponents of the Diversity Statement argue that the papers encourage scholars to apply for work to shift their focus away from academic achievement. In 2023, the University of California, Santa Cruz’s diversity statement demanded a lawsuit by a University of Toronto psychology professor. The Pennsylvania-based professor accused the position of applying for violations of constitutional protection of freedom of speech. Last year, the judge dismissed the lawsuit because the professor did not apply for a job.
Several UC faculty members familiar with Wednesday’s decision believe they see the Trump administration’s opposition as an important factor in the Regent’s decision.
Brian Soucek, a law professor and diversity statement expert at UC Davis, expressed disappointment by studying their use, legitimacy and effectiveness with UC faculty and administrators.
“This can only be interpreted as an attempt to raise the current threat of the Trump administration,” Soucek said. “There is no other general change that could inspire such a change, or in the current situation that is being made in such a special way.”
Soucek noted that UC leaders and faculty members “had been studying the diversity statement on campus for years.” He said the statements should “look for a specific field that may lack ways to address the needs of a diverse public in terms of production scholarships.”
The Department of Education issued guidance last month to all schools and universities, suggesting that their DEI programs, such as minority-centric scholarships and Black and Latino graduation ceremonies, put them at risk of losing federal grants.
The letter did not pick out the diversity statement, but broadly stated that the department considered race illegal in “admissions, financial aid, recruitment, training and other institutional programming.”
In response, many schools across the country have made changes, such as closing diversity offices or positions, or renaming them to eliminate diversity and fairness words. USC closed a campus-wide diversified office, merged it with the “culture” team and scrubbed department-level websites with diverse languages.
The Education Department also investigated UC Berkeley and dozens of campuses last week, accusing them of illegally working with a New Jersey nonprofit organization that promotes workplace diversity by connecting business school faculty and students. The Trump administration accuses nonprofits of restricting participation based on race. The nonprofit said last week it changed its policy to be open to everyone.
Janet Reilly, the president of the UC Board of Trustees, said in a statement that the university will continue to embrace and celebrate Californians’ life experiences, backgrounds and perspectives. ”
