UT firings in wake of DEI ban upset students, advocates
Destiny Afinni-myles, the University of Texas at Austin’s diversity, equity and inclusion office gave her group for Black and African American students opportunities to meet and plan events.
So when the UT administration closed a rebranded version of the office and laid off dozens of employees this month to comply with a new state DEI ban, Afinni-myles said she and many other students were left feeling “completely disheartened.”
“It’s a loss of belonging,” Afinni-myles said. “A loss of community.”
The university has not said how many staff were let go, but advocates say at least 66 people were fired, 40 of whom formerly held Dei-related jobs. Ut-dallas announced Tuesday that it was laying off 20 workers and closing its Office of Campus Resources and Support, a new office meant to comply with the DEI ban.
The moves come after state Sen. Brandon Creighton, a Confor roe Republican and the author of the ban, warned university officials that simply renaming DEI offices and job titles was not enough to comply with the law. In an interview last week, Creighton declined to comment on the layoffs directly.
“I just know that they’re making some overall strategic moves for the future, as all of the universities have to continue to evolve in ways that will make sense with their budgets and their goals,” he said.
At Ut-austin and Ut-dallas, news of the firings has roiled students and advocates, who argue that administrators are overreacting to the law and weakening
the schools’ ability to recruit talented faculty.
At Ut-austin, officials had already changed the name and focus of the former DEI office at the beginning of the year, when the ban took effect, as well as many of its programs. In announcing the office’s closure, the administration said some programs will move under other areas of campus, but many others will not exist past this school year.
That includes the Women’s Community Center, which provided students with free pregnancy tests, condoms, menstrual products, and HIV and STI testing, among other services.
Other discontinued programs include targeted access to leadership, training and entrepreneurship opportunities for minority students.
Ut-austin President Jay Hartzell said the school had always planned for broader changes after the law’s Jan. 1 effective date. “We knew that more work would be required to utilize our talent and resources most effectively in support of our teaching and research missions, and ultimately, our students,” he said in a statement.
Advocates have called on Hartzell to rehire the terminated staff, noting that they had already been reassigned to nondei positions.
“They did not deserve to be the victims of partisan political fights,” Brian Evans, president of the Texas Conference of the American Association of University Professors, said at a news conference Tuesday.
State Rep. Ron Reynolds, a Missouri City Democrat and chair of the Texas Legislative Black Caucus, said House members felt “hoodwinked” because during debates over the bill in the last legislative session, some GOP lawmakers said the law would not lead to layoffs.
“This was a breach of trust,” Reynolds said. “We were sold a bill of goods. They made false promises, and we’re calling them out on it.”
The House ultimately added in job protections for former DEI staffers, but they were stripped out during final negotiations between the House and Senate.
Texas NAACP President Gary Bledsoe warned that the firings will hurt recruitment, saying officials have “rolled up the welcome mats” for minority students and faculty who will choose to go to other universities.
“Virtually overnight, Ut-austin has gone from a champion player in the higher education ecosystem to a minor leaguer,” Bledsoe said. “Sadly, the damage is self-inflicted.”
Students have responded to the firings with public demonstrations and protests.
Members of a burgeoning group called #Notourtexas mobilized last week, covering public areas on and around campus with more than 1,000 signs promoting their cause, according to its social media page.
More than 200 students and staff gathered at UT’S central walkway for a silent demonstration during last Monday’s eclipse.
Since then, the #Notourtexas movement and other student groups have called on Hartzell and Creighton to address them directly at a town hall this month.
Creighton declined to commit to attending the event.
“To throw a date out there and a couple of weeks and say we need you at this is very difficult, but we’re looking at it,” he said.
Creighton added that he expects UT and other schools to “continue to offer students support that is needed, and certainly will continue to strive for diverse outcomes.”
In addition to the firings, Utaustin has also cut thousands of dollars in funding to student organizations, closed a popular student meeting center and eliminated certain resources for minority students.
Antonio Ingram of the NAACP Legal Defense Fund said the university appeared to be reacting conservatively to the law’s vague wording.
“There are various terms that are used, such as ‘program’ or ‘policy’ or ‘training,’ and they’re not defined,” he said. “So it’s really hard to ascertain what activities are prohibited, and what activities are still permissive.”
But Ingram said some of the changes have run “afoul of the plain text of the bill.”
Afinni-myles, who currently heads the African Students Organization, said she fears for the future of diversity at UT, where only 4.5% of students are Black.
“If the university just took the time to know the opportunities and importance and belonging that these DEI institutions created for its students, its future workforce, its future leaders and its future world changers, then they wouldn’t have been so quick to take it away,” she said.
Afinni-myles urged university administrators and those behind the law to hear from students who are directly affected by the changes on campus.
“This is the time, more than ever, that you’re supposed to support your students and not just leave them out to hang dry,” she said.