UW professor: ‘I would not be hired’ today under university’s new DEI rules

This story is part of Fox News Digital’s investigative series Campus Radicals. Get the full series here.

A University of Washington professor has unleashed on college Stringent diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) requirements. For new hires and a teacher performance evaluation form that includes a scorecard that measures the DEI strategy used to evaluate a prospective professor’s performance.

Stuart Regis is an adjunct teaching professor at the Paul G. Allen College of Computing at the University of Wisconsin Science and engineeringHe said he would not have been hired under the strict DEI pledge requirements, despite his academic accomplishments at the university.

“You have to say you have a deep knowledge of DEIs in order to get a high rating on all of this,” Regis told Fox News Digital. “The funny thing is, I’m convinced I wouldn’t get hired if I applied today. There’s no way at all, even though I won the Distinguished Teaching Award here at the university.”

Stuart Regis, a professor at the University of Washington, criticized the school for its diversity requirements when applying for new professors. (Photo by Wolfgang Kahler/LightRocket via Getty Images)

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The University of Washington’s list for an associate professor in school psychology role includes a mandatory “diversity statement” for all applicants, demonstrating a pledge of the university’s “commitment to racial equity.”

“A one-page diversity statement that describes your identity, position, experience, and commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion, and alignment with APA’s Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion Framework,” reads the job posting. “In addition, describe your philosophy of teaching and learning, including how your work will advance the College of Education’s commitment to racial equity and social justice.”

Seattle Red Radio Host Jason Rantz also criticized the university’s hiring policy, saying that “this application process makes it easy to discriminate against conservatives, which is exactly why you don’t hear far-left faculty speaking out,” in his recent article.

Pro-Palestinian demonstrators at the University of Washington in March 2025. (Jason Redmond/AFP via Getty Images)

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“The university is not looking for diverse thought; it is imposing a monoculture of acceptable political views,” Rantz added.

In addition to the mandatory diversity statement in the application, the professor explained that the rubric for evaluating a potential professor’s performance includes a section titled “Diversity,” where he rates applicants on a scale from poor to excellent.

A “weak” rating describes a professor who shows “little evidence of potential to contribute.” UW Diversity Chart“.

“I’ve known faculty, very talented faculty who left because of that kind of pressure, and people who wouldn’t even apply,” Regis explained. “I think a lot of graduate students who maybe wanted a career in teaching kind of say, ‘Why bother?’

Grading rubric used to register prospective professors at the University of Washington. (Stuart Regis)

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“I mean, look at all the bullshit you have to deal with,” Regis added. “You basically have to create a statement that will make them happy to say the things you’re going to do.”

Publicly funded University of Washington’s dedication to ‘challenging’ itself to implement DEI policies raises doubts about its alignment with the president Donald TrumpThe January executive order is titled: “President Donald J. Trump Protects Civil Rights and Merit-Based Opportunity by Ending Illegal Direct Investing.”

“Many companies and universities use DEI as an excuse for biased and illegal hiring practices and illegal admissions preferences, ignoring the fact that the rhetoric and foundational ideas of DEI promote intergroup hostility and authoritarianism,” the executive order said.

The University of Washington evaluates professors using a rubric that rates teachers on diversity. (Karen Dossey/Getty Images)

In March, US Department of EducationThe Office for Civil Rights (OCR) has launched investigations into a number of universities for “practices of racial exclusion in educational programs and activities.”

The University of Washington was among those universities investigated.

“The University of Washington does not view diversity and access as mutually exclusive, and we remain committed to providing access to excellence for all,” a university spokesperson told Fox News Digital. “Our hiring practices adhere to state and federal laws to ensure that race is not a factor in hiring, and the University of Wisconsin acted proactively when it learned that such a violation had occurred.”

“Schools, colleges and departments within the university have a great deal of freedom in their hiring practices, but all must adhere to state and federal laws,” the spokesperson added.

“The College of Education research referred to in A Local commentator’s recent blog post “It was consistent with these laws, but to prevent any ambiguity or misinterpretation, we are rescinding it and providing additional guidance on employment practices before republishing it,” the spokesperson continued. “We are also reviewing employment practices more broadly to ensure they follow state and federal laws.”

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Fox News Digital reached out to the White House but did not receive any response.

Preston Meisel is a Fox News Digital staff writer covering breaking news. Story tips can be sent to Preston.Mizell@fox.com and X @MizellPreston