On Noisy Pendulums: September-December 2024 updates
New good news on the DEI abolition front.
Previous newsletters in the series:
(July-August 2024) Noisy Pendulums
Each post lists the institutions of higher learning that have regained some common sense by enacting anti-DEI measures during the relevant time period. The May-June 2024 issue is an exception, as it includes material from the pre-May 2024 bulletin for comparison.
SATs/ACTs
Following a rapid improvement this year, the SAT situation stabilized. Currently a small but significant number of undergraduate institution (4 Ivies, 4 top private, 8 top public) value competence.
SAT/ACT reinstatement is monitored by Horizon Education.
Lawsuits aimed at promoting equality in university and advanced K-12 admissions are monitored by the Advancing DEI database, Meltzer Center for Diversity, Inclusion, and Belonging (NYU School of Law).
GREs
The GRE situation remains dire. Currently, only nine PhD-granting institutions require qualified applicants to submit GRE scores, though this number is expected to rise to 16 by Fall 2025. Meanwhile, 25 institutions currently 'recommend' submitting GRE scores, but this number is projected to decrease to 17—primarily due to a shift toward making GRE submissions mandatory.
GRE policies are closely tracked by an anti-GRE activist spreadsheet.
DEI
The red states seem to be on track to fully reinstate equality. A notable example is the University of North Carolina system, where all 17 campuses are rapidly eliminating DEI positions. Similarly, the University System of Georgia has followed in our footsteps and removed DEI statements from its hiring process.
Blue and purple states, on the other hand, continue to prioritize equity.
The Chronicle of High Education features an comprehensive anti-DEI law tracker.
Institutional neutrality
The list of institutions that decided (gasp!) (in Sep-Dec 2024) that the university’s job is to foster inquiry and not to support one’s political goals is unusually long:
University of Alabama System: September 5, 2024
Washington State University: September 9, 2024
University of Pennsylvania: September 10, 2024
University of Wisconsin System: September 13, 2024
University of Virginia: September 13, 2024
Northwestern University: September 27, 2024
Louisiana State University: October 10, 2024
University of Michigan: October 17, 2024
Yale University: October 30, 2024
Michigan State University: December 4, 2024
Dartmouth College: December 10, 2024
Idaho State Board of Education: December 18, 2024
The full list consists of 29 schools.
The University System of Georgia also declared neutrality, but it’s not on the FIRE list.
FIRE keeps a list of institutions who declared institutional neutrality here (featuring our very own College of Science and Math, but alas - not the entire university).
Freedom of expression
Currently, 111 universities support freedom of expression, with no new members in Sep-Dec 2024. (We joined in April, 2022)
The list is maintained by FIRE. (We are #85.)
That’s all for now. Want more? Fight for it.
I always remind my colleagues who hope the pendulum will swing back by itself that basic physics says that it will not unless a force of applied. I intend to be that force!