ASU Theology Professor Warns University Uses ‘DEI Questions’ to ‘Screen’ Professors in Hiring Process

Tom Pappert

Arizona State University (ASU) theology professor Dr. Owen Anderson claimed the university now uses Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) questions to “screen” and exclude job applicants during the hiring process. Anderson revealed this information to The Arizona Sun Times when reached to discuss the July 18 hearing in the Arizona Legislature that examined freedom of expression at the taxpayer-funded institution.

Anderson (pictured above), who is also a pastor at the Historic Christian Church of Phoenix, told The Sun Times ASU uses “DEI questions in hiring to screen candidates,” which Anderson said “means only candidates that agree with their left wing agenda are hired.”

The professor also told The Sun Times that ASU’s New College of Interdisciplinary Arts & Sciences “is attempting to change its bylaws to say we use antiracist and decolonizing philosophy in our classes” and revealed that professors are now “asked to evaluate how well we contributed to DEI” during annual reviews.

An ASU spokesman claimed the university does not require job applications to contain DEI questions when reached by The Sun Times, but did not clarify whether such questions have been included in applicant screening processes, or whether professors must agree with DEI initiatives to teach at the university.

Anderson’s latest revelation comes after the professor told Arizona legislators ASU mandates “employee training,” which “specifically teaches to employees that critical race theory and intersectionality are true” during a hearing last week. Anderson told The Sun Times that such materials could prejudice professors against conservatives and inhibit viewpoint diversity among faculty.

When speaking before the legislature, State Senator Anthony Kern (R-Glendale) asked Anderson to clarify that the materials are mandatory, then listed “How is White Supremacy Normalized in Society,” “What is White Privilege, Really?” and “Explaining White Privilege to a Broke White Person” as examples of podcasts, videos, or other materials professors must review.

The Arizona Senate Republicans uploaded an excerpt of Anderson’s remarks to Twitter, questioning why the university is “forcing faculty to take a mandatory course regarding ‘white supremacy’ which includes” such materials.

The exchange between Anderson and Kern came during a joint legislative committee investigating freedom of expression at Arizona’s public universities. That investigation was sparked, in part, when ASU lost $400,000 in annual funding from Arizona real estate investor Tom Lewis, who pulled his funding months after the majority of the school’s professors – 37 out of 47 – signed a petition declaring conservative speakers Charlie Kirk and Dennis Prager “purveyors of hate” and aiming to prevent them from attending a “Health, Wealth & Happiness” panel at ASU’s T.W. Lewis Center in February 2023. The T.W. Lewis Center ultimately closed due to lack of funding.

Following his appearance, Anderson wrote that the hearing “went great” in a tweet and added that its speakers provided evidence of “harassment, intimidation, and the chilling effect for conservatives, Jews, and Christians at ASU.” He added that he looks forward to the university’s response.

During the hearing, former T.W. Lewis Center executive director Ann Atkinson also testified that Tara Williams, the first-year dean of Barrett, the Honors College, where the center was housed at ASU, “spurned Atkinson’s ‘diversified donor funding’ plan based on verbal commitments she secured from several would-be benefactors” and charged that “Williams killed the center as it was becoming a ‘global brand’ and let the ‘faculty mob assume control of a jewel at ASU’ that had run 150 ‘well attended’ events under Atkinson’s leadership,” according to Just The News.

Atkinson also told legislators to expect “‘overwhelming evidence’” of misconduct from ASU faculty regarding the February 8 event, should a serious investigation occur, Just The News reported. Atkinson also claimed ASU email accounts were used to harass her, the outlet added, and that ASU deans ordered the removal of marketing materials for the event and compared its speakers to the Ku Klux Klan.

Kern asked ASU to investigate the claims and produce a written investigation that includes a list of corrective actions within 60 days.

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Tom Pappert is a reporter for The Arizona Sun Times and The Star News Network. Follow Tom on Twitter. Email tips to [email protected].
Photo “Owen Anderson” by Owen Anderson. Background Photo “Arizona State University Campus” by Beyond My Ken. CC BY 2.0.

 

 

 

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