Not to get into an argument about affirmative action, but if the problem is that minorities are often perceived as having a lower bar for entry, one of the few ways to ameliorate that perception is to actually hire minority candidates who do meet the "normal" bar for entry. Yes, skeptics will still be skeptics, but if an institution as renowned as Harvard is too scared by Fox News to take that action, than who isn't? (besides NYU and the other schools that accepted the Ph.D. candidate)