For those who missed Roger Clegg’s essay at Minding the Campus last Thursday, I highly recommend it; he ably dismembers the arguments in favor of “diversifying” science faculties.

Roger is responding specifically to a recent article in National Journal, in which a spokesman for the American Association for the Advancement of Science declares that “Science and engineering should look like the rest of the population.” He argues that the costs of discrimination in favor of people in “underrepresented” groups are high and the presumed benefits, such as “cultural competence” and “serving a a role model” are so slight, if they exist at all, that colleges and universities ought to forget about “diversity” in their hiring.