A document leaked on May 25th showed that Clemson’s College of Science was considering mandated racial quotas in its future hiring processes.
The document, acquired by FITSNews, mandates that 1/3 of tenured positions in the College of Science be filled with underrepresented minorities (URMs). The document also mandates that URMs be 40% of the candidate list for Skype interviews and either 1/3 or 1/2 of the list for campus interviews. Clemson Vice President of University Relations Mark Land responded to the FITSNews report, stating, “The slide that was obtained by FITSNews, and which formed the basis of your article, was the first draft of a proposed hiring process and timeline shared with College of Science leadership on April 16. The language in question was subsequently changed in early May as part of an iterative review process that is ongoing”.
A break down of ethnic diversity in Clemson University’s Faculty
Clemson’s College of Science was formed in 2016, and it named Cynthia Young as its founding dean in 2017. College Factual, which works with USA Today in compiling college rankings, states that the ethnic diversity of Clemson’s faculty is in line with the national average, with the faculty breaking down as 81.6% white, 9.9% black or African-American, and 4.6% Asian.
The TTO reached out to Land to inquire as to whether or not the university opposed the use of racial quotas in the hiring process but did not receive a response in time for publication. Clemson’s Notice of Non-Discrimination states that “Clemson University is committed to a policy of equal opportunity for all persons and does not discriminate on the basis of race [or] color.”
The Tiger Town Observer reached out to Mark Land and Cynthia Young for comment but did not receive a response in time for publication.
