When Equity Goes Overboard

Michigan State University (MSU) is hardly the first institution of higher education to post a medical-related professorship with a DEI twist. But its “1855 Associate/Full Professor-Tenure System” job posting within the College of Human Medicine is riddled with so much woke jargon, it’s hard to ascertain what exactly the job entails.

Consider the following portion of the job description: “This 1855 Professorship offers a unique opportunity for an established researcher who seeks to continue their highly impactful, community engaged health equity research to drive change in areas both relevant to Flint and widely applicable. These include increasing equity in social determinants of health, behavioral health, healthy behaviors, chronic disease, maternal-child health, and environmental justice, among others.”

Other than some vague language about researching equity, it is anyone’s guess as to what the 1855 Professorship does. But what is clear is that the job listing mentions “equity” eight times.

The program is financed by a “$25 million gift from the Flint-based Charles Stewart Mott Foundation [which] allows [MSU] to largely or fully guarantee salary coverage for researchers who are willing to move their substantial research portfolios to MSU.” The Charles Stewart Mott Foundation’s mission is, of course, “Promoting a just, equitable and sustainable society.”

Upon further peeling back the layers, it is clear that this is only a small sample of the College of Human Medicine’s fixation with DEI concepts. From their “Dean’s Advisory Committee on Diversity” to their “Health Quality and Equity Team” to their “Center for Cancer Health Equity Research” and more, it is no wonder why they feel the need to hire even more equity specialists. There is no shortage of tasks to carry out and committees to serve on to advance their pet cause.

But the problem isn’t just limited to the College of Human Medicine—it is emblematic of a broader challenge with Michigan State University as a whole. For example, in 2023, Do No Harm reported that a job posting in the College of Osteopathic Medicine required the submission of a “Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) statement” as a condition of an application for a faculty-level position. Yes, you read that right—no DEI statement, no chance at a job.

At the time of that blog’s publication, the job posting had been removed—but the College’s Diversity and Inclusion Initiatives webpage was still active (archived link). Now it appears that link is broken as well.

While the 1855 Professorship position does not list a DEI statement among its required application materials, it might as well—because for all practical purposes, the College (and University as a whole) have made it clear they are looking for candidates who conform to their ideology and way of thinking, and not someone who will disrupt the comfort of their status quo mindset.

In fact, using the University’s career search tool, the keyword “equity” returns 75 different open positions—i.e., positions that reference equity in at least some portion of the job description. For the keyword “diversity,” 91 open positions are listed.

It is unlikely that Michigan State University is going to change its commitment to woke practices and hiring standards anytime soon, even as other colleges and universities around the country have moved away from these concepts. But it would not be entirely unsurprising—or without precedent—if some of these job postings begin to change or become inactive following greater scrutiny.

In any case, one can only hope, for the applicants’ sake, that they do not need to include “equity” eight different times in their cover letters. However, with the type of candidates MSU is apparently looking for, that task might be a welcome one for a prospective future employee that fits the University’s mold.