Wayne State University issues statement after requesting employment partners to sign commitment to DEI.

Employer partners are being invited by Wayne State University to sign a "Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) Pledge" that encourages promoting equitable access to opportunities for LGBTQ students.

Wayne State University invites employer partners to complete a pledge that pledges their company to uphold the diversity, equity, and inclusion standards of Wayne State University. Diversity is a core value at Wayne State University.

The public university in Detroit emphasizes that exposure to diverse experiences helps individuals accept others openly and will educate them on working alongside people from various backgrounds.

The university holds employers accountable for promoting equitable access to opportunities for all WSU students, including Black, Hispanic/LatinX, Indigenous, Students of Color, women, LGBTQ+ students, students with disabilities, and international students. The university is committed to working with employers who support diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) for all.

The DEI pledge signed by an employment partner shows the WSU community that the company is dedicated to combating racism, racial prejudice, injustice, and disparities.

The DEI pledge has been signed by Wayne State University, which also features a list of employers seeking to hire through the school.

Matt Lockwood, the school's Assistant Vice President of University Communications, stated to Planet Chronicle Digital that the signing of the pledge is "entirely voluntary for employer partners to consider."

He stated that the university collaborates with all employers, regardless of their reaction to it.

Several groups scrutinized the pledge, which was reported on by The College Fix, a breaking campus news website.

Michael Hichborn, president of the Catholic Lepanto Institute, stated that requiring a religious employer partner to sign the university's DEI pledge is a form of religious discrimination.

"Wayne University's pledge of 'inclusion' is ironically exclusive of those whose religious beliefs prohibit them from supporting any form of sexual deviancy," Hichborn stated.

The communications director of the National Association of Scholars, Chance Layton, also criticized the pledge.

Layton stated to The Fix that "an ostensibly neutral institution should never encourage companies to sign on to political pledges."