Scholar pushes back against university “Equity, Diversity and Inclusion” initiatives as anti-academic




This article by True North is about Philosophy Professor Mark Mercer at Saint Mary University in Halifax voicing his objection against the DEI (Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion) agenda recently embraced by various colleges and universities in Canada and the US. 

Mr. Mercer is the President of the Society for Academic Freedom and Scholarship. The Society was founded in 1992, and has recently 

His primary objection is that “EDI initiatives and EDI ideology are fundamentally anti-academic. They don’t embody academic values and they don’t serve academic goals,” (Cantin-Nantel, 2023). Professor Mercer cites that the two most important criterion for academic recruitment should be teaching and research capabilities instead of irrelevant factors such race and non-academic criteria (Cantin-Nantel, 2023.)

For Mr. Mercer, non-academic factors should only be taken into consideration where academic merits alone are insufficient to differentiate two different candidates. Other than that, academic merits should be the primary and deciding criteria for university enrollment and recruitment. 

Personally, I agree with Professor Mercer in arguing that DEI and the crusade for racial diversity at the expense of competence and merit by the corporate, governmental and media institutions are ultimately counter-productive and detrimental to the proper functioning and flourishing of the society as a whole. 

References

Cantin-Nantel E. (2023, January 12). Scholar pushes back against university “Equity, Diversity and Inclusion” initiatives as anti-academic. True North. Retrieved from https://tnc.news/2023/01/12/scholar-anti-academic/

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