UW System to remove diversity mission questions from employee applications 

The UW System has announced it will eliminate questions for prospective employees regarding their intentions to advance diversity, equity, and inclusion in order to depoliticize hiring, according to the Wisconsin State Journal. The effort comes in response to Republican lawmakers’ claims that universities lack conservative faculty.  

The new guideline, which requires all System chancellors to remove mandatory written questions about diversity missions from applications by June 30, was announced Thursday during a state Assembly Committee on Colleges and Universities hearing. The hearing focused on perceived lack of intellectual diversity and free speech on System campuses. 

Proponents of the new guideline maintain it will not translate to the UW System’s abandonment of diversity initiatives but rather will expand diversity to include other areas of difference such as thought, veteran status, and disability.