UC to Request 'Diversity and Inclusion' Statements of New Faculty, Staff Job Applicants

As of July 1, the University of Cincinnati will request a Diversity and Inclusion statement of all applicants for faculty and staff positions. (Applicants for student-worker positions will not be required to submit such statements for campus-based employment.)

As is the case at a number of universities across the country who request such statements as part of the hiring process, UC's statement request is one part of the overall evaluation of a candidate’s qualifications.

And as of July 1, new job postings related to staff openings will also require a Diversity and Inclusion statement.

Specifically: 

• Faculty and administrative/professional applicants will be asked to submit a personal statement summarizing his or her contributions (or potential contributions) to diversity, inclusion and leadership.

• All other positions, including hourly positions, will be asked to respond to the following question on UC’s application form:

“As an equal-opportunity employer with a diverse staff and student population, we are interested in how your qualifications prepare you to work with faculty, staff and students from cultures and backgrounds different from your own.”

According to Tamie Grunow, senior associate vice president and chief human resources officer, “This application request recognizes that the university is a diverse environment and signals that diversity and inclusion are important enough that we’re asking applicants about contributions or potential contributions up front. We’re all better off with diversity in our lives, and it’s part of demonstrating our commitment to diversity and inclusion and setting expectations and priorities. ”

The process that led to this expansion of the use of this Diversity and Inclusion statement began in December 2015 when UC President Santa Ono appointed a working group to examine models used at other universities, including the University of California San Diego.

Requesting the statement for a staff hire was piloted ahead of the July 1 official start date in the university’s

recent search

for a new police chief and assistant police chief.

About Jobs at UC

• At any one time, UC has about 400 job vacancies.

• Approximately 63,000 applications are made each year for jobs at UC.

• Apply to UC jobs at: https://jobs.uc.edu/