Austin, Texas — A group of professors are demanding that the University of Texas change course this week on job losses linked to the elimination of a diversity, equity and inclusion program affected by one of the nation’s most sweeping bans on such initiatives.
Officials at the 52,000-student university, one of the largest college campuses in the U.S., have not said how many jobs have been cut. University President Jay Hartzell told the campus in a letter this week that additional measures will be taken to comply with the state’s new law. He said the university plans to close the Campus and Community Engagement department, which houses programs that support student learning and community building.
Hartzell’s announcement also stated that deputy and assistant deans who focused on DEI initiatives would return to their full-time faculty positions and that positions for staff who supported them would no longer be funded.
The school’s chapter of the American Association of University Professors estimates that 60 people in DEI positions on campus have been laid off, but has not said how they arrived at that number. In a letter sent Thursday, the group argued that the cuts violate employees’ rights to academic freedom, due process and freedom of expression. It also criticized what it called a lack of transparency about how decisions were made and why input from the faculty council was not taken into account.
“While clearly not the intention, such actions may lead to a loss of trust and a perception of unfairness,” the letter said.
The changes come as public universities in Texas were forced to make rapid changes to comply with a new law passed last year by the state’s Republican-controlled House. Known as Senate Bill 17, it is one of the strictest bans on diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives, which came into effect on January 1.
School officials did not immediately respond to a request for comment Friday. The university declined to answer questions this week about how many faculty or staff members were affected by the cuts.
Texas’ new laws apply to the state’s more than 30 public institutions, which serve more than 600,000 higher education students. It prohibits universities from influencing hiring practices with affirmative action and other approaches that take into account applicants’ race, gender or ethnicity. It also prohibits the promotion of “differential” or “preferential” treatments or what it calls “special” benefits for people based on these categories, and prohibits training and activities conducted “with regard to race, color, ethnicity, gender identity or sexual orientation’.
At least five other states have already passed their own bans. This year, Republican lawmakers in more than a dozen other states are pursuing various restrictions on diversity initiatives, an issue that some hope will mobilize their voters this election year. The legislation focuses primarily on higher education, although some also limit DEI efforts in K-12 schools, state governments, contracts, and pension investments.
The move by University of Texas leaders to close the campus’ community engagement department came days after Republican Sen. Brandon Creighton, who authored the bill, sent letters to regents of multiple public university systems, inviting them to speak before state lawmakers to testify about the changes. created to comply with the new law.
Creighton also warned that simply renaming programs would not be considered compliance and reiterated that non-compliance could result in schools losing funding.