Let Alumni Serve Without Ideological Screening
DEI doesn’t have a place in hiring professors, and it shouldn’t be used to determine which alumni can serve on Furman's councils and boards.
Announcements:
👏At Furman’s Opening Bicentennial Celebration on February 13, President Davis made a commendable statement highlighting the importance of free speech to Furman’s future:
“Our students… were stepping into a fractured world where disagreement is treated as danger—where the idea of common ground often feels like a relic of the past… So we did something requiring courage. We created our Statement on Freedom of Inquiry and Expression—the rock on which discourse and progress would be built. A space where students could practice the hardest skill: engaging thoughtfully across difference. And on that foundation, we built On Discourse. This is our commitment: Furman is and will be a place where students learn how to think, not what to think. Where they practice listening to perspectives that challenge their own. Where they discover discomfort isn’t danger, and disagreement isn’t disrespect. It isn’t easy work. But it’s what Greenville needs, what South Carolina needs, and indeed, what the world needs.”
Furman made it onto the U.S. News and World Report’s list of the 30 most beautiful college campuses.
Furman master’s student, Sierra Burns, attended the State of the Union as a guest of First Lady Melania Trump and a representative of her Foster Youth to Independence Program.
The Southern Conference Basketball Championships are set to take place this weekend. Games open on March 5 and the championship will be on March 9. Watch and cheer on our Dins!
Furman Trivia:
How many governors of South Carolina graduated from Furman University? Can you name them?
A) 2
B) 5
C) 4
D) 3
*Find the answer at the bottom of the newsletter!*
Let Alumni Serve Without Ideological Screening
Last month, Furman University opened nominations for its alumni leadership boards and councils. According to the university’s website, these bodies exist to “mobilize alumni leaders to cultivate lifelong engagement and advance Furman’s future.”
The Furman Free Speech Alliance shares that mission. We are deeply committed to Furman’s long-term flourishing. That is precisely why we feel both encouraged and concerned by the university’s recent announcement.
Let us begin with the concern.
The nomination form for alumni board service includes language stating that “Furman University is committed to building a diverse and inclusive community” and requires applicants to explain how a nominee would “support that commitment as a volunteer leader.” However well-intentioned, this requirement functions as a DEI-style pledge. In our view, such pledges too easily become political litmus tests rather than neutral measures of a candidate’s qualifications and commitment to the institution.
DEI has been among the most debated and polarizing developments on American campuses in recent years. Alumni boards should be places where graduates of every background, profession, and viewpoint feel equally welcome to serve. When service requires affirming contested ideological language, even implicitly, it risks narrowing the pool of willing and qualified volunteers. That would undermine the very goal of broad alumni engagement.
We raise this concern not as outside critics, but as alumni who want Furman to succeed.
There is much to praise in this new nomination process. This is the first time Furman has broadly promoted its alumni boards and publicly solicited nominations from across the alumni body. In the past, these boards often grew by word of mouth, with new members nominated primarily by existing members. Opening the process to all alumni is welcome reform. It signals a desire for wider participation and a more representative range of voices.
The Dins Digest alumni newsletter deserves credit here. We have previously commended it as evidence of a healthier approach to alumni relations—one focused on genuine engagement rather than transactional fundraising. The decision to use it to invite open nominations is another positive step. We have heard that the alumni office has already received a strong influx of nominations and is encouraged by the number of Paladins eager to serve.
That is why it is so important to address the concern now.
When we previously urged the administration to reconsider DEI pledge language in faculty and staff applications, the university listened and meaningfully softened the wording. That responsiveness was appreciated. It demonstrated that Furman can uphold its commitment to community without requiring applicants to affirm language that many reasonably view as ideological.
We believe the same adjustment should be made here. The current language appears to be a holdover from a period when DEI rhetoric was more aggressively embedded in the institution.. It does not reflect the broader, more open approach that this new alumni initiative otherwise represents.
If Furman’s goal is to mobilize alumni leaders to advance the university’s future, then removing or revising this pledge would ensure that the effort to broaden participation is not inadvertently constrained.
We applaud the university for opening the nomination process. With a modest but meaningful revision to the form, this initiative could fully live up to its promise.
CLPs of the Month:
Furman students must attend 32 Cultural Life Programs (CLPs) to graduate. CLPs are university-approved events meant to “enrich” and “build community.”
Here are some interesting CLPs coming up in March:
On Thursday, March 12, “Democracy and Protest-Social Movements” will teach students how “social movements have transformed democracy in the US by expanding participation, challenging injustice, and holding institutions accountable.”
On Wednesday, March 25, Furman’s annual “Sex in the Dark” will dim the lights and allow students to ask questions about “broadening your perspective of sexuality and relationships.”
Trivia Answer:
a) 2 - Mark Sanford (‘83) and Richard Riley (‘54).
* John Calhoun Sheppard studied law at Furman but likely “read law” under practicing attorneys in the traditional 19th-century style rather than formally graduating.
** Ibra Charles Blackwoord attended Furman’s preparatory school but graduated from Wofford.