Breaking: UNC Won’t Force Faculty To Be Woke

Big news: The University of North Carolina will no longer force applicants, students, and faculty to prove their commitment to divisive and discriminatory ideology.

This important reversal applies to the UNC School of Medicine, which currently demands that potential students and current and future educators demonstrate their wokeness. These litmus tests lower the quality of medical education, and ending them protects faculty, students, and patients alike.

Do No Harm has previously drawn attention to the UNC School of Medicine’s dangerous policy, which essentially compels so-called “DEI Statements.”

• On its student application, the UNC School of Medicine includes the following prompt: “We believe that education and professional development are enhanced in educational settings that include individuals from diverse backgrounds and experiences… describe how your background and/or experiences would contribute to the UNC SOM community.” Translation: Prove you will advance the woke agenda in order to get admitted.

• For faculty, the “Required Common Criteria for Appointment, Reappointment, and Promotion for Variable, Fixed-Term, and Tenure-Track” document demands that academics demonstrate their “positive contribution to DEI efforts” on campus, including in their teaching plans and the trainings they’ve taken. Translation: Prove you put woke ideology ahead of medical education.

Do No Harm chairman Dr. Stan Goldfarb previously wrote a letter the School of Medicine’s dean, as well as North Carolina’s governor and senior legislative leaders. He stated:

“It is inappropriate to require that candidates for promotion and tenure demonstrate their commitment to a political ideology… Forcing candidates to declare their support for DEI when many undoubtedly oppose it would compel dishonesty. Moreover, forcing candidates to show a track record of involvement in DEI would compel participation in political activities. All of this is deeply illiberal and violates the basic tenets of academic freedom.”

Fortunately, the UNC School of Medicine can no longer engage in such dangerous and agenda-driven activities. It still promotes divisive and discriminatory woke ideas in plenty of other ways, yet the end of DEI Statements is still a huge step in the right direction. Let’s hope it’s just the first of many.