Established 1 day after closing La department, school says new company was n’t only rebranding
After opening its doors a few months ago to adhere to the law, the University of Texas at Dallas recently shut down its new company in response to a state ban on “diversity, capital, and inclusion” programming.
One day after the common university’s Office of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion was shut down in response to the DEI restrictions, the public school inaugurated the Office of Campus Resources and Support.
At the time, UT Dallas said the innovative company was created to comply with the law, and it was not merely a rebrand, web files show.
But then, the new business is gone, also.
In a statement shared with The College Fix, president of the university Richard Benson said that the Senate Bill 17 had come to an end” as a result.”
The law, which has led to similar shutdown at another Texas institutions, prohibits La programs at public higher education institutions and the use of “race, gender, color, or race” as factors in hiring practices.
However, some universities have essentially changed the names of their La offices in an effort to keep with state law.
Brittany Magelssen, school communications director, declined to answer The Fix‘s questions about the university’s efforts to ensure there are no La offices or workers, its getting practices, and the response to the shutdown from students on campus. She pointed to The Fix to Benson’s speech.
Additionally, Magelssen did not respond to two additional requests for comment this week asking for more details about the closing and the college’s response to those who claimed the recently renamed DEI office was all that had been made.
Benson claimed in a statement that officials had decided to shut down the four-month-old office as they” continued to evaluate our SB 17 answer and how to readjust many of the programs impacted by the legislation.”
Benson said roughly 20 work will get eliminated. He added that the choice” will not be welcomed by many in our school society” and that UT Dallas will continue to be a” friendly group” as well.
Not just the La company ‘ renamed,’ college says
According to online libraries, the university claimed to have created the Office of Campus Resources and Support  on its website to “make sure UT Dallas can continue to meet the needs of our school society in a way that is fully cooperative with SB 17.” The homepage just was removed.
The business “is totally separate and new” and” may direct activities that are SB 17 compliant”, it stated, adding it is not just the La office “renamed”.
The university stated in web archives that it was still trying to determine” the entire scope” of the new office, but that its “mission will include strengthening student community-building and supporting employees and employee resource groups.”
One of the office’s projects was to help “facilitate opportunities to foster a welcoming university climate through professional development, employee engagement, and student and employee success initiatives”, according to web archives.
The closure, according to Steve McGuire, a fellow at the American Council of Trustees and Alumni, signifies that the university administration has finally “rightly recognized” how they must follow the law.
He told The Fix in an email on Monday that” the Texas law does not simply call for a superficial reshuffling of offices and employees but rather a real commitment to ending programs that discriminate or give preference treatment on the basis of identity characteristics.”
Benson made a number of statements about the DEI ban last year, according to him in The Fix.
Benson stated to the Dallas Morning News that” we’re going to continue doing those things,” in addition to promising that no one would lose their jobs. And so it’ll go under a different name. However, I do n’t believe anyone would have a problem with what we actually do.
DEI offices are unable to” claim” their academic freedom.
Additionally, McGuire identified a number of issues with university DEI programs.
He said,” DE I offices are not classrooms”, they are administrative offices that” cannot claim the privilege of academic freedom”.
By “advancing viewpoint discrimination with institutional support and sponsoring trainings and programs that expect participants to accept that individuals are inherently oppressed or oppressors based on group membership,” according to McGuire, whose organization promotes academic freedom.
He claimed that DEI offices and programs frequently operate against this standard despite public universities ‘ need to welcome all students. He cited DEI’s use in hiring, which excludes certain viewpoints.
He claimed that DEI offices ‘ closing would save money for better uses, such as need-based scholarships for students who otherwise could n’t afford to attend college.
McGuire said nondiscrimination also should extend to “intellectual and ideological nondiscrimination”. He said “if universities cannot guarantee free expression and intellectual diversity on their own, then others, including legislators, need to make that happen”.
According to previous reports from The Fix, other Texas universities have also discontinued their DEI programs as a result of the law. The University of Texas at Austin recently canceled its special graduation celebrations for black, Latinx, Asian, and LGBTQIA + students as well.
MORE: Georgia universities rebrand, rename diversity efforts in wake of new anti- DEI regulations
IMAGE: University of Texas at Dallas/Facebook
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