Professor Rebecca German sends along this ad for a position in the sciences that includes this statement:

"Appointment is anticipated at the ASSISTANT Professor rank. In exceptional circumstances appointment at the ASSOCIATE or FULL Professor level may be considered for candidates who offer extraordinary opportunities to further the University's commitments to mentoring underrepresented students in the sciences."

SCIENCE 10 October 2003, Vol 302, p 326

I do not know if this comes from Prof. German's university or elsewhere (I can't see the ad itself -- I've linked to the issue's index). The message is pretty clear: we'll hire at higher levels for underrepresented groups. We've seen that here before; there used to be a fund that could be used to create new faculty lines that would enhance "diversity". Lines have been authorized for searches that would be suddenly called "failed" because an acceptable "diversity" candidate could not be found. I do not think the practice continues today, but I am not sure.

UPDATE: Critical Mass today posts more, including a link to the ad.