Image Credit: University of Memphis / Facebook
The Tennessee Conservative [By Paula Gomes] –
A Tennessee university has closed its Multicultural Affairs Office in order to comply with a new law passed earlier this year by the Tennessee General Assembly.
On Friday, the University of Memphis (UM) officially closed the office due to the “Dismantling DEI Departments Act” and stated that they had no choice but to shut it down while also referring to President Donald Trump’s executive order that prohibits public institutions of higher education from from promoting diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) programs.
UM follows several other universities in the state who have begun to discontinue such programs on their campuses.
UM officials said that while the university does not discriminate against faculty, staff, or students, they were forced to reevaluate how they operated to ensure that they remain in compliance with the law.
However, the UM chapter of United Campus Workers stated that staff in the Multicultural Affairs Office should not have been cut in what they say was an abrupt manner, and that it was not required by Tennessee statute. The office was shut down less than a day after an email was sent out by university president Bill Hardgrove on Thursday. The group is “organizing” and have promised to take action.
Hardgrove has stated that the closing of the office is just the beginning and that several programs will ultimately get the boot. References to DEI on the university’s website and publications will also be taken down.
Earlier this year, Vanderbilt removed all references to DEI from their academic department and center websites after President Donald Trump’s administration released federal guidelines.
Vanderbilt affiliates were informed via email of new requirements that would bring them into compliance with Trump’s January 20th Executive Order aimed at ending “radical and wasteful government DEI programs and preferencing.” The university is mandated to comply with the guidelines as it contracts with a number of government entities.
Around the same time, the Student Center for Social Justice and Identity was changed to the Student Center for Belonging and Communities.
Following the university’s actions to be in compliance with the guidelines, an investigation of 45 universities, including Vanderbilt, was announced by the Trump administration for “civil rights obligations to end the use of racial preferences and stereotypes in education programs and activities.
The University of Tennessee, Knoxville, and Belmont University are also under investigation despite stating that they have abided by federal law.
In April, U.S. Senator Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.) sent a letter to Vanderbilt’s President Jeffrey Balser regarding allegations that the university was concealing its DEI programs rather than fully complying with the law.
About the Author: Paula Gomes is a Tennessee resident and reporter for The Tennessee Conservative. You can reach Paula at paula@tennesseeconservativenews.com.
3 Responses
DEI=lucifer’s accursed dimmercraps. It and they NEED gone.
They will just rebrand the DEI office into another department BUT without federal (aka taxpayers’) money!
Well, it seems to me, that those truly in favor of the D.I.E. movement will continue to raise a fuss until they figure out that taxpayers do not want this misguided notion quashed. The whole notion is not only highly discriminatory, but un-American. We do not need leftists telling the majority of the country that meritocracy has no place in our country. The majority is tired of the “Peter principle” being utilized in every thing we encounter. Either you are fair and competent in your job and how you manage others, or you aren’t. The D.I.E. crowd falls into the latter category. Its well past time that they step aside and let competency and reason lead.