Faculty Hiring Preferences and the Law

By ROGER CLEGG

Since the U.S. Supreme Court's rulings on affirmative action in 2003, colleges have begun to reconsider how they give preference to students according to race, ethnicity, and sex — not only in admissions, but in financial aid, internships, and various other programs. They need to do the same thing now for employment preferences. It is an open and ugly secret that many colleges still weigh such factors in faculty hiring decisions. That practice is flatly at odds with, among other