A few thoughts on the recent controversy surrounding @norman_c_wang, his paper opposing affirmative action in academia, and what I see as a double standard in some views I've seen shared on diversity/inclusion and "cancel culture" in the workplace. 1 /

First, the background: Dr. Wang published a paper that looked critically at racial and ethnic preferences in academic hiring. This was widely criticized on #MedTwitter, and the paper was eventually retracted.

From what I can gather, he has since been removed from his position as EP Fellowship Director, though he remains clinical EP faculty at UPMC. This has been criticized by many, including some whose views I respect (eg, https://twitter.com/Noahpinion/status/1291757506767724545?s=20) as "cancel culture" run amok.

What's odd to me about this line of criticism is that if you are a director of a Fellowship, one of your roles is to help shape the incoming Fellowship class. Diversity and Inclusion is one of your responsibilities. 4/

Different ppl can reasonably disagree about how to achieve this, and I don't think criticizing affirmative action is beyond the pale. But if U take that stance publicly, it reflects on how the institution can reasonably expect U will do your job and the enviro U will create 5/

If one of UPMC's institutional goals is striving towards diversity in hiring, and I think it is vital that it should be, it needs to take that seriously. That means making sure those with power over hiring are aligned with the institution-wide plan for promoting diversity. 6/

This would be obvious in any field not related to diversity and inclusion. You can't publish a paper arguing you disagree with a hospital's expansion plans and expect to remain in charge of implementing the expansion! 7/

And yet, we have a blind spot where D&I is concerned. It's seen as somehow outrageous that an institution should make a decision about who is in charge of promoting diversity based on their views about how that should be done. 8/

I have no reason to believe that Dr. Wang is anything other than an exceptional physician, and have no desire to see him fired or stopped from seeing patients. But if an institution wants diversity, they need people in leadership roles committed to making that happen. /fin