It is not of instrumental value, since hiring faculty and admitting students strictly by merit yields better scholarship and education than would result if we used diversity as an additional criterion.
Diversity is of symptomatic value.
Therefore, it makes no sense to use diversity as a criterion in hiring and admissions. It is of no instrumental value, and using it as a criterion is inconsistent with achieving the symptomatic value. Be sure to include your name and affiliation. Legitimate requests for anonymity will be honored. The Chronicle maintains Colloquy as an open forum where readers can comment on issues.