Virginia Tech has backed down from its attempt to force a diversity loyalty oath on its faculty. The credit goes to the Foundation for Individual Rights in Education (FIRE) and the National Association of Scholars (NAS), with a strong assist from the American Council of Trustees and Alumni (ACTA). Under proposed guidelines, Virginia Tech faculty members would have put promotion, tenure and merit raises at risk by not accepting and promoting a diversity political agenda, a clear violation of academic freedom and freedom of conscience.
An account on FIRE’s site says, “In March, Virginia Tech’s College of Liberal Arts and Human Sciences (CLAHS) concluded voting on new rules for faculty merit raises, promotion, and tenure that would require faculty to demonstrate fealty to a highly politicized definition of diversity in their research, teaching, and personal enrichment activities. The results of the vote have not been made public.In an e-mail today, however, (April 14) Steger wrote that this proposal is “no longer under consideration.” A Virginia Tech spokesman confirmed that “the provost has asked the college to rework its proposed guidelines.”
A search of the American Association of University Professors (AAUP) turned up no protest of the coercive Virginia Tech plan.
