Berkeley Dean Appears To Admit Race-Based Hiring Policies: ‘I’m Going To Deny I Said This’

The Dean of the University of California, Berkeley School of Law seemingly admitted to race-based faculty hiring policies during a class lecture, in a video posted by Christopher F. Rufo on Thursday.

The dean, Erwin Chemerinsky, said that UC Berkeley School of Law’s hiring practices are partially based on diversity, noting he’s “very careful” not to say that during faculty appointment meetings, according to the video posted by Rufo on Twitter. He also said he would deny such claims if he were “ever deposed,” according to the video.

Race or diversity-based hiring practices are illegal in the state of California.

“What I mean by unstated affirmative action is, ‘What if the college or university doesn’t tell anybody, doesn’t give any public statements?’ I’ll give you an example from our law school, but if ever I’m deposed, I’m going to deny I said this to you,” said Chemerinsky in the video.

“When we do faculty hiring, we’re quite conscious that diversity is important to us … but I’m very careful when we have a faculty appointment committee meeting, anytime someone says ‘We should prefer this candidate over this candidate because this person would add diversity’ – don’t say that. You can think it, you can vote it, but our discussions are not privileged, so don’t ever articulate that that’s what you’re doing,” said Chemerinsky. “That works more easily in regards to faculty hiring.”

Rufo’s posted video quickly elicited backlash. “This man must be sued, deposed, fired, and sent into retirement. He’s a virulent, proud racist—and an enemy of equality,” said Rufo in the caption of the video.

Chemerinsky’s previous position as dean of the University of California, Irvine School of Law was initially rescinded by the university’s chancellor in 2007, who cited concerns that Chemerinsky’s commentaries were “polarizing.” Chemerinsky was eventually hired after discussions with the chancellor.

In addition to his tenure at Berkeley and UCI, Chemerinsky was recently a part of Los Angeles District Attorney George Gascon’s transition team. Gascon was elected in 2020, and his campaign was largely backed and funded by George Soros.

In a statement to the Daily Caller News Foundation, Chemerinsky said, “I am sad that someone took a video recording of my class and excerpted a part of it out of context.  The Law School, of course, scrupulously complies with Proposition 209 in all its hiring and admissions decisions.”