Racism Still Alive At U of L

The University of Louisville recently posted a want ad at HigherEdJobs, which has stirred up quite a controversy.  The post, which has since been deleted, encouraged applicants “with a Ph.D. in physics or a related area, a strong research record and a passion for teaching” to apply.

Then, the advertisement narrowed the eligibility field, with “The Department of Physics and Astronomy announces a tenure-track assistant professor position that will be filled by an African-American, Hispanic American or a Native American Indian [sic].”

According to Colleen Flaherty, writing at Inside Higher Ed.com, Cindy Hess, a university spokeswoman, said that the human resources department was notified of “the error” and the ad was removed immediately.  “The position will be reposted and [human resources] will contact all applicants and encourage them to reapply,” she said.

The advertisement has been deleted, but nothing ever disappears completely from the internet.  Here’s a sampling from an internet cache of the ad:

Assistant Professor of Physics (Job ID: 32279)

Institution: University of Louisville

Department: Physics

Location: Louisville, KY

Category: Faculty-Science-Physics, Faculty-Science-Astronomy and Astrophysics

Posted: 10/15/2015

Type: Full Time

Job ID:  32279

Location: Physics

The University of Louisville is an Affirmative Action, Equal Opportunity, Americans with Disabilities Employer, committed to community engagement and diversity, and in that spirit, seeks applications from a broad variety of candidates.

Position Description

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.

The Department has active research programs in Astronomy, Atomic Physics, Condensed Matter Physics, High Energy Physics, and Optics. The research field to be considered for this position is any area of Physics and Astronomy listed above. Applicants with a PhD degree in physics or a related area, a strong research record and a passion for teaching are encouraged to apply.

Preference will be given to candidates with post-doctoral experience. Based on the research experience, appointments at a higher rank may be negotiated.