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Prairie View A&M University (PVAMU) has created diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) programs and plans that will be considered in hiring faculty and staff based upon DEI, according to the PVAMU website.
The Office of Equal Opportunity and Diversity “strives to foster an academic community where diverse people have an equal opportunity to work and learn to their fullest potential and are judged solely on their performance or job criteria” according to the vision statement on the PVAMU website.
The university seeks to provide a non-discriminatory work environment for faculty and staff. In order to achieve these goals, PVAMU uses “compliance, education, and intervention” as stated on the website.
In explaining the policy, the university says: “As a recipient of federal grants and contracts, the university has an affirmative action program directed at achieving equal employment opportunity and the appropriate representation of minorities and women in the workforce” as stated in the Equal Opportunity and Recruiting section of PVAMU’s website.
The Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO) and Diversity section of the Office developed a selective evaluation and interview process for candidates. PVAMU instituted a “search committee” that is responsible for new hires. Anyone on the search committee is required to take training workshops and classes including: “Course #99002 – Creating a Discrimination Free Workplace – (Required – Every 2 years) and Course #2111264 – Effective Hiring Practices – (Recommended – Every 12 months)” according to the PVAMU website. The search committee and the department reviewer should be composed of a “diverse group of individuals.”
A form on the Office of Equal Opportunity and Diversity website also asks the search committee chair to ask every person joining the search committee to state their race.
The Office of Equal Opportunity and Diversity has developed a “standardized Applicant Evaluation Matrix” that the search committee uses when evaluating applicants. The search committee lists all applicants and must give reasons for why a certain candidate was rejected or recommended.
“Search committees succeed when they build highly qualified, diverse applicant pools,” a PowerPoint presentation on the search committee shows. Under the “best practices” slide, it states, “Include women and minorities whenever possible-may use community members” and “Include members with track records for hiring underrepresented groups and/or educated in affirmative action policies and procedures.”
However, interviewers are barred from asking the applicant about their age, sexual orientation, marital status, religion, children, ethnicity/culture, veteran status or disability status. The presentation gives the appropriate steps for the hiring process once an interview is completed.
An American Enterprise Institute (AEI) study shows most people are either for or against DEI. Those in favor of implementing DEI in the hiring process for university faculty and staff are excited about the inclusiveness and open opportunities it provides, especially for minority communities.
Critics call requiring DEI in the hiring process and workplace a tactic meant to adhere to what is politically correct. Those who oppose the practice argue there has been a flip in hiring from quality and scholarship to hiring based on a candidate’s knowledge and experience with DEI. They are concerned that DEI hiring might erode the quality of instruction and they surmise it will lead to ideological conformity where candidates are removed from the pool of applicants purely for displaying poor DEI statements or not having the correct DEI experience.
AEI also did a study that examined whether the strategic diversity plans at universities actually attain their goals. The study found no evidence of the betterment of campus climate or research productivity under the DEI hiring policy and it concluded, therefore, that requiring DEI in the hiring process has a fundamentally political end.