UT System Renames Division Of Diversity And Equity To Mislead Tennessee Lawmakers

Guy Harrison, who was recently named as the new director of DEI for the School of Journalism and Media, says the change will move the department out of the spotlight of state lawmakers, highlighting the true motivation behind the move.

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The Tennessee Conservative Staff –

The University of Tennessee System is renaming its Division of Diversity and Engagement, masking it under the new title of “Division of Access and Engagement.”

Campus officials say the new title is a better representation of the department’s mission, and it is a move away from terminology that they believe can be divisive.

Previously the division has promoted a goal of “diversity, equity, and inclusion” (DEI), claiming to work to provide equal opportunities for minority groups within the university. They state that they have worked for inclusivity for students, faculty, and staff members.

Officials say the name change represents the system’s desire to change that focus to one of prioritizing access for higher education across the state.

“UT System President Randy Boyd has charged all campuses in the system with prioritizing access to a UT degree for Tennesseans, and to better reflect the socioeconomic demographics of our state,” the university said in a statement to The Beacon, the school’s independent student newspaper. “As part of this effort … the division will change its name to the Division of Access and Engagement. The university’s commitment to the Board of Trustees’ Diversity Statement has not changed.”

The name change will start with the main Knoxville campus’ office and will then filter through offices, committees, and divisions in all colleges and schools.

“To ensure alignment with the renamed division, colleges will update position titles, office names, or committee names to contain the words access or engagement,” the statement said. “Colleges’ commitment to diversity remains as strong as always.”

Guy Harrison, who was recently named as the new director of DEI for the School of Journalism and Media, says the change will move the department out of the spotlight of state lawmakers, highlighting the true motivation behind the move.

“We are in a very ultra-conservative state, and there are political actors who would completely do away with DEI, whether it’s the title or the work that we do,” Harrison said. “And this kind of protects us from them a little bit. But I wish it wasn’t necessary … we shouldn’t need to whitewash the word diversity out of things, just not to alarm certain people.”

The change comes after legislators passed Senate Bill 2290, placing restrictions on schools in an effort to keep them from pushing divisive concepts on students.

Music professor Angela Batey says the change of the name represents confusion that exists about CEI, but she says it also better aligns with what the university is actually doing.

“I think (Access and Engagement) more accurately reflects what we’re doing at a university level,” Batey said. “It’s all about creating as much access as we can for anybody who wants to get an education beyond high school to get that education. It’s about equity for everybody, access for everybody and just respect for all people, no matter what they look like, sound like or believe.”