Has Political Correctness at Williams gone Over the Top? The college got a fair amount of flack after the WSJ’s Notable & Quotable column on October 25 featured a Williams job posting for Assistant Coach of Nordic Skiing that put a priority on diversity, with abilities in Nordic skiing / coaching as an afterthought:
https://www.wsj.com/articles/notable-quotable-snow-job-qualifications-1540507699?mod=article_inline
You’ll have to give us your WSJ username and password if you want us to read the article.
The article is just an excerpt from the job posting. Here’s the job posting.
https://chroniclevitae.com/jobs/168342-301585?mod=article_inline
The job posting looks reasonable to me. It includes a list of qualifications and responsibilities, so the comment in the OP that qualifications are an “afterthought” has no basis in the text evidence from the job posting.
It seems reasonable to indicate that a candidate should be open to working with students from diverse backgrounds. Williams values diversity and wants to create a welcoming environment for all its students. There was simply an introductory statement to this effect, followed by the list of qualifications and responsibilities.
It is also appropriate that the college made it clear that all job applicants are welcome to apply. We include a statement to this effect in my public school district with every job posting. It is called being an Equal Opportunity Employer, something that has been expected for years of all organizations receiving federal aid.
This is not, IMO, an example of over-the-top political correctness. One might, however, be able to find other such examples at Williams, as at many colleges.
It’s kind of ironic though that they’d be looking for a coach adept at dealing with diversity in the Nordic ski team, when it’s pretty unlikely that the Nordic ski team is going to be composed of anybody but white, upper class, preppy types. These colleges bend over backwards to recruit “diversity”, while at the same time bending over backwards to recruit for sports such as skiing, squash, ice hockey, field hockey, golf, lacrosse… teams that are pretty unlikely to be “diverse.”
At our local public high school in New England the nordic ski team is a big deal. Here it is not exclusively an upper class, preppy sport. Kids from across the socioeconomic spectrum participate. I cannot speak to the backgrounds of the Williams nordic skiers, but the team is welcoming to any student who is serious about the sport.
Like many other small colleges, coaches at Williams teach physical education classes or assist with other sports during the off season. For example a football coach might assist with track and field during the spring term, or a swim coach might teach beginner swimming lessons. In these roles the coaches often work with students who are not athletes on their primary teams.
That said, the Wall Street Journal seems to be making a big deal about the boiler plate language contained in the job ad. The college wants to hire a qualified assistant nordic coach and the ability to work with students from diverse backgrounds would be an asset. This seems quite reasonable to me.
Gosh, who would have thought the WSJ would make a big deal out of a normal college, EOE job ad, because it emphasizes diversity. I can’t imagine why they would do that. Wait, who owns the WSJ? /sarcasm/
Even in academia, most job postings I’ve seen focus on the job description and qualifications, with a brief boilerplate about being an equal opportunity employer. (For example, take a look at any Amherst job posting…)
Yep, I think Williams has gone off the deep end here. Looking at job postings at Amherst, Wesleyan, and other peers, Williams definitely puts the emphasis on PC and not the job itself.
And to 50’s point, the Williams nordic roster does in fact look pretty white and privileged. High school sports can be diverse and open to all, but to be recruited and compete on a Williams caliber team it generally takes years of parental investment (i.e., privilege).
Just for the heck of it, I took a look at the roster of the Nordic Ski Team on Williams’ website. The team is as white as Antarctica.
And, you don’t think that justifies a robust statement regarding diversity and inclusion? Not sure I understand your logic.