University of Memphis Cancels Plan To Bribe Professors To Teach “Woke Activism”
Photo Credit: University of Memphis website
The Tennessee Conservative [By Jason Vaughn] –
A controversial plan by the University of Memphis’ “Eradicating Systemic Racism and Promoting Social Justice Initiative” to offer a $3000 incentive to professors to incorporate teachings on critical race theory in their courses has been canceled.
Tennessee Governor Bill Lee criticized the plan for the use of taxpayer dollars to fuel a “divisive, radical agenda.”
“We welcome robust debate on college campuses, but taxpayer dollars should never be used to fuel a divisive, radical agenda,” Lee said in a statement to the Commercial Appeal.
The College Fix reports that Lee had contacted the University of Memphis after becoming aware of the plan.
“The University of Memphis has informed my office that the initiative will not move forward,” Lee’s statement continued. “Ending this program was the right decision, and I thank the university for hearing our concerns.”
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The program was planned to have soft launch in the Spring Semester of 2022 and go into full effect by Fall Semester 2022.
Under the tenets of the program, professors could have earned $1500 after modifying their curricula and another $1500 after going through with teaching the course.
A faculty-wide email stated that 15-20 professors would be chosen to pilot the program for the Spring 2022 semester.
Faculty members who were interested in participating were asked to submit a new syllabus for their course along with a 500-word narrative that explains their “diversity, equity, and inclusion philosophy.” They were also required to provide rationale for how their new lessons will “address disparities” in their particular content areas.
Some of Tennessee’s Republican congressional delegation spoke out against the program, criticizing the university’s grant initiative.
U.S. Rep. Tim Burchett lambasted university leadership, saying that they “should be ashamed for bribing professors to advance this useless teaching.”
“Taxpayer dollars should not be used to fund a Woke Socialist Agenda,” U.S. Senator Marsha Blackburn told Fox News.
The Tennessee Conservative’s followers on social media also made their opinions about the program known.
Dan Davis said, “Universities who do such corrupt things need to be shut down. Suspend their accreditation! Fire the administrators responsible!!”
John Venier said, “Well……my kids were looking at the University…….now they are NOT as I wouldn’t drop one cent on this liberal dump.”
“CRT has nothing to do with math, chemistry, etc. Stay in your swim lane and do what the student is paying you to teach,” said Bill Winters.
About the Author: Jason Vaughn, Media Coordinator for The Tennessee Conservative ~ Jason previously worked for a legacy publishing company based in Crossville, TN in a variety of roles through his career. Most recently, he served as Deputy Directory for their flagship publication. Prior, he was a freelance journalist writing articles that appeared in the Herald Citizen, the Crossville Chronicle and The Oracle among others. He graduated from Tennessee Technological University with a Bachelor’s in English-Journalism, with minors in Broadcast Journalism and History. Contact Jason at news@TennesseeConservativeNews.com
