After failing to obtain the requisite number of signatures for a referendum on Senate Bill 1, the hope is that its opponents finally understand the widespread appeal that such a bill has among their fellow Ohioans. The University of Cincinnati will now close its Diversity, Equity and Inclusion office and end its use of DEI in hiring.
Forcing a publicly funded university to evaluate and hire faculty based on merit and not through the amorphous lens of victimhood promoted by DEI proponents can only strengthen those institutions. There absolutely can be diversity at all levels of education, and there should be. However, that diversity should not come at the expense of the abandonment of commonsense evaluations of fitness to teach the taxpayers’ children.
With the removal of DEI requirements in hiring, I guess that those who have control over that process will still hire many, if not all, of their chosen candidates moving forward. However, those professors and staff will be evaluated by their competency, ability and prior experience. No longer will they be brought in under the cloud of merely “checking a box” or because of some vague notions of events that happened hundreds of years ago.
The return to putting merit-based hiring first should be welcomed by all, the least of which would include the professors and the university itself. They will now move forward confidently knowing they have tested their academics in the crucible of a real hiring process, making them and their school all the better for those efforts.
Stephen Cook, Washington Court House, Ohio
This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: Letter | The end of DEI and return to merit-based hiring at UC should be welcomed by all
Reporting by Letters to the editor / Cincinnati Enquirer
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