House committee investigates Harvard for alleged discrimination in faculty hiring
The House Committee on Education and Workforce has launched a federal investigation into Harvard University for allegedly using discriminatory hiring practices.
The investigation was announced in a letter written on June 10 by Rep. Tim Walberg (R-MI) and Rep. Elise Stefanik (R-NY) to Harvard President Alan Garber.
The House Committee on Education and Workforce has announced that the federal government will investigate Harvard University regarding allegations that it uses discriminatory hiring practices.
The investigation was announced in a letter written on June 10 by Rep. Tim Walberg (R-MI) and Rep. Elise Stefanik (R-NY) to Harvard President Alan Garber.
In the letter, the representatives write that Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 “prohibits employment discrimination because of an individual’s race, color, religion, sex, or national origin. The Committee is concerned about recent reports that Harvard University (Harvard) may be discriminating in hiring and employment on these bases.”
“Numerous publicly available documents produced or published by Harvard suggest that Harvard may have been and may still be unlawfully discriminating with respect to its hiring and employment practices,” the lawmakers continue.
In their letter to Garber, the legislators point to specific evidence that Harvard has used discriminatory hiring practices, including “Diversity-Related Sample Interview Questions” such as “Explain how diversity played a role in your career.”
The letter also cites reporting from Christopher F. Rufo and Ryan Thorpe of City Journal and a May report from The Washington Free Beacon.
The City Journal report uncovered Harvard’s “Inclusive Hiring Initiative,” which seeks to create an “understanding of how departments can leverage the selection process” in order to create “an increasingly diverse workforce.”
According to the Free Beacon investigation, Harvard previously stated on its website that it was increasing the number of “women, non-binary, and/or people of color” on its faculty.
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The committee letter concludes by requesting that the Ivy League school turn over its policy documents, going back to 2021, about considering “race, color, religion, sex, or national origin” in the hiring process.
The investigation into Harvard’s hiring practices is not the only discrimination probe currently being made into the university. The Harvard Law Review is also under investigation for allegedly using race as a hiring criteria.
“Harvard Law Review’s article selection process appears to pick winners and losers on the basis of race, employing a spoils system in which the race of the legal scholar is as, if not more, important than the merit of the submission,” Acting Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights Craig Trainor said in April.
“Employment at Harvard is similarly based on merit and achievement,” Harvard President Alan Garber wrote in May. “We seek the best educators, researchers, and scholars at our schools. We do not have quotas, whether based on race or ethnicity or any other characteristic. We do not employ ideological litmus tests. We do not use diversity, equity, and inclusion statements in our hiring decisions.”
“We hire people because of their individual accomplishments, promise, and creativity in their fields or areas of expertise, and their ability to communicate effectively with students, faculty, and staff,” Garber added. “And we take all of our legal obligations seriously, including those that pertain to faculty employment at Harvard, as we seek to offer our students the most dynamic and rewarding educational experience that we can.”