University Slammed for Controversial Job Ad

The University of Louisville is under fire after advertising an opening for a professor—an "African-American, Hispanic-American, or Native American Indian" professor, to be exact. Inside Higher Ed first highlighted the job ad in an article titled, "Whites, Asians Need Not Apply," and noted that the ad was "abruptly deleted" from the HigherEdJobs site Tuesday. It's cached here, and the text reads: "The University of Louisville is an Affirmative Action, Equal Opportunity, Americans with Disabilities Employer, committed to diversity. In that spirit, the Department of Physics and Astronomy announces a tenure-track Assistant Professor position that will be filled by an African American, a Hispanic American, or a Native American Indian."

Interestingly, the ad was removed not because it seemed to bar white or Asian candidates, but because someone complained that the diversity preferences didn't also include people with disabilities. But experts say it was "inappropriate" at best and possibly illegal at worst to make the job available only to certain racial and ethnic groups. But, as the chair of the university's physics and astronomy department points out, it's not clear how a university should go about recruiting minority candidates without being explicit about it: "How we do increase our diversity is not clear at all." A university spokeswoman tells the Courier-Journal the school "did not intend to exclude any group or persons from applying," and that the vacancy will be reposted with everyone encouraged to apply. (More Louisville stories.)