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   MERIT VS. EQUITY INHIGHER EDUCATION
 The (ongoing) research detailed in this 
        section is concerned with what I regard as a deterioration of merit as 
        the sole criterion of the evaluation of the academic community (both students 
        and faculty). The research has been funded mainly by the Donner Canadian 
        Foundation and partly both by the Horowitz Foundation and by the University 
        of Toronto Administration (a generous gesture, as it and I continue to 
        disagree about this issue). I have divided these writings into conceptual 
        and empirical. The latter section contains systematically analyzed data 
        which, at least in principle, may be useful for both the "merit" and "equity" 
        camps. 
 CONCEPTUAL CRITICISMS OF THE EQUITY/AFFIRMATIVE 
        ACTION CAMPUS MOVEMENT 
         
         On How Emphasis On "Equity" Can Destroy 
          Merit In Tenure-Stream Hiring (1987) 
         Three pro-employment-equity propaganda 
          posters produced by EE (extremist equity) Ontario NDP government in 
          1994. In 1995, the Progressive Conservative Government abolished 
          employment equity, but this had minimal impact on the universities (see, 
          e.g., http://www.safs.ca/jan2001/equity.html). 
         Unpublished Letter to the Toronto 
          Star (1994) regarding the NDP government's Employment Equity Act 
         Unpublished Letter to the Globe and Mail 
          (1994) regarding the editorial "Time for a Debate on Employment 
          Equity" 
         The Continuing Saga of the Post-NDP-Era 
          Employment Equity Survey at UofT (1995) 
         Political 
          Correctness and the Culture of Comfort: An Impediment to Observation, 
          Objectivity, and the Conflict of Ideas (1997) 
          The Silent Equity Studies Debate 
          (1997) 
          
          Academic Diversity Examined (1997) 
          Enlightened vs. Ignorant Ways of Fighting Discrimination (1998) 
         Is Birgeneau A Social Engineer? (2000) 
         Views on Diversity Differ (2000) 
         Spousal Hiring, 
          Society for Academic Freedom Newsletter, January 2001 
          Presdient 
          Atkinsons' Opposition to the Use of SAT I (2001) 
         Linking The Diversity Of Peoples' 
          Sex, Race, Etc. With The Diversification Of Ideas: Who's Being Racist 
          And Sexist Here? (2002) 
          Canada 
          Research Chairs Politicized (2002) 
          Diversity or 
          Conformity? (2002) 
         Panel/Discusssion: The Moral 
          Bankruptcy of Diversity/Equity Hiring Policies for University Faculty: 
          Empirical, Logical and Ethical Considerations (2002) 
          Diversity Debates: (2002) 
         Quotas Help No One (2003) 
         Excellence Through 
          Equity - Confronting the Tension in Universities (2003) 
         Excellence 
          Through Diversity (2003)  
          More Diversity Debates: 
          (2004) 
         The Proportionality Game: Biological 
          Versus Intellectual Diversity (2004) 
         Although meant as a jest, many a 
          true word is said … (2005) 
         A Critique of the General Principles 
          Underlying "Equity" in Faculty Hiring (2005). 
         Equity 
          Hiring as a Manifestation of Institiutional Prejudice (2005) 
         High Time Equity Program Subject 
          to Detached Review (2006) 
         No Race Preferential Treatment Either 
          for Murderers or Applicants for Tenure-stream Faculty Positions: Act-based 
          vs. Actor-based Ethics (2006) 
         Equity vs. Merit-oriented Approaches 
          to Identifying Genuine Academic Disciplines (correspondence arising 
          from http://www.psych.utoronto.ca/~furedy/Papers/me/UTB12JunM.doc) (2006)
 
         Sex-preferential rather than merit-preferential 
          hiring for maths and hard sciences in top universities is a case of 
          relying not on a pool, but a puddle, of talent (2006) 
         Dubious Partnership: Equity and excellence are not          equivalent (2007)   SYSTEMATIC EMPIRICAL EVALUATION OF THE 
        EFFECTS OF EQUITY/AFFIRMATIVE POLICIES ON THE HIRING OF TENURE-STREAM 
        FACULTY This research employs methods of 
        multi-factorial anlyses used by experimental psychologists, where the 
        "subjects" are tenure-strea advertisements, the factors observed are such 
        independent variables as academic status, discipline hardness, location, 
        and time (usually before and after some signifciant political events such 
        as the abolition of employment equity 1995 in Ontario, or the passing 
        of the "anti-affirmative-action" Proposition 13 in 1997 in California), 
        and the dependent variables are rated degrees of emphasis (on a 7-point 
        scale) on merit and equity. These ratings are conducted by student raters, 
        who participate in the research not only as raters, but also in discussions 
        concerning the design of each study. For photograph of one of these discussions, 
        see discussion photo. Note 
        that I and my colleagues are conducting our discussion with an old-fashioned 
        black-board, rather than slides or power point.    
        Provincial Politics 
          Fail to Affect Employment Equity Commitment in Universities (2001) 
         University 
          Employment Equity Commitment Unaffected by Provincial Politics (2001) 
          Employment "Equity" Steamrolls Conservative 
          Government (2001) 
          Judgmental Content Analysis of Canadian 
          Tenures-Stream Advertisements to Assess Latent Influences on Institutional 
          Commitment to Affirmative Action This is Technical Report #1 to 
          the Donner Canadian Foundation (November, 2001) 
          Latent or Even Unconscious(?) 
          Influences on Equity and Merit Phraseologies in Canadian Tenure-Stream 
          Advertisements (2002) 
         Tenure-Stream 
          Advertisements Before and After the 1995 "Common Sense Revolution" (2003) |