Williams Removes Race Language From Handbook to Get Grants Back

Wikipedia

Faculty at Williams College approved four motions at a faculty meeting earlier this month to remove language about using race in college admissions and hiring decisions from the faculty handbook, the Williams Record reported. 

The changes are part of a collegewide effort to comply with new federal laws and regulations, a college spokesperson said. In May, Williams officials stopped accepting grants from the National Science Foundation and the National Institutes of Health, saying they would not accept new funding until the agencies clarified their ban on college grant recipients promoting diversity, equity and inclusion. 

Two of the approved motions removed references to affirmative action and replaced them with language about “non-discrimination.” Another motion revised the description of the Bolin Fellowship—named for Williams’s first Black graduate, Gaius Charles Bolin—to remove language that restricted the scholarship to underrepresented groups. The fourth motion removed racial provisions from the handbook description of faculty hiring processes. All motions were “widely approved,” the Record reported. Faculty were originally supposed to vote on the motions last month, but the vote was deferred to allow for further discussion. 

“The updated text includes affirmations that Williams’ educational mission depends on the inclusion of people of all identities and a multicultural and pluralistic range of perspectives—and that the college remains dedicated to supporting an environment in which students, faculty, and staff of all backgrounds can live, learn, and thrive. Williams continues to fully comply with federal anti-discrimination law,” a spokesperson said in a statement to Inside Higher Ed. “The edits helped us update our language to reflect that our doors are open to all qualified candidates and that everyone we hire has equal opportunities to participate in and benefit from their employment.”

Williams president Maud Mandel told the Record she expected the recertification process to be complete by the end of October, though it is unclear whether it has been completed.