Bates College removes ideological ‘litmus tests’ for faculty
Bates College in Maine has removed a requirement for DEI statements on job applications following a letter from the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression and reporting by The College Fix.
FIRE sent a letter July 22 to the private liberal arts college in southeast Maine raising concerns about DEI “litmus tests” in two of the school’s job postings following an interview with The College Fix for a June article.
The Fix report had flagged how applicants for the Visiting Assistant Professor in Earth and Climate Sciences position were required to provide evidence of “past and potential contributions to equity and inclusion” when applying to the college.
Similarly, applicants for the Visiting Professor of Physics and Astronomy role were required to “submit a ‘statement of teaching philosophy/experience that also addresses equity and inclusion,’” according to FIRE’s letter, written by Graham Piro, a fellow with the group’s Faculty Legal Defense Fund and a former investigative reporter for The College Fix.
“Regardless of whether it is intended, such requirements risk turning institutions into echo chambers for only certain preferred views,” Piro wrote.
“Absent agreed-upon, objective, and precise definitions, ‘diversity,’ ‘equity,’ and ‘inclusion’—which carry political connotations subject to much debate and controversy—will almost certainly serve as proxies for certain viewpoints or beliefs,” reads the letter from the group, which defends free speech and academic freedom.
The letter called on the college to remove DEI requirements from the job postings.
The school did not reply to FIRE’s letter directly. However, it quickly removed the mandatory DEI statements from the job listings, FIRE reported Aug. 14.
Now the postings state “candidates may choose to provide evidence of their skills and experience supporting a diverse student body either in a separate, additional document or integrated into the teaching and research statements.”
“We commend Bates for acting swiftly,” FIRE said in response to the change. “Institutions of higher education may pursue their own diversity-related initiatives and may recognize voluntarily submitted work regarding DEI, but must refrain from imposing their own definitions on faculty applicants and current faculty members.”
Bates College continues to retain DEI programs, however. It approved in 2023 a “Race, Power, Privilege, Colonialism” curriculum requirement that takes effect in 2026-27.
Last year, The Federalist reported that Bates College’s DEI office is being used to intimidate instructors into compliance with its progressive ideology. Professors are reportedly hesitant to challenge students for fear of being reported to the school’s DEI office.
Keith Taylor, a former administrator at the school, even faced backlash and was eventually fired after expressing concerns about the DEI office, as previously reported by The College Fix.
As for DEI statements, FIRE conducted a survey in 2022 showing they are a contentious issue among university faculty. Out of nearly 1,500 respondents, one half saw the requirement for a diversity statement as “‘an ideological test that compromises academic freedom,’ while the other half said such requirements are ‘a legitimate criterion for university employment,'” FIRE reported.
MORE: Bates College green-lights ‘Race, Power, Privilege, Colonialism’ curriculum requirement
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