The Texas A&M University, Texas State University and University of Houston systems will no...
“No university or agency in the A&M System will admit any student, nor hire any employee based on any factor other than merit,” says Texas A&M System Chancellor John Sharp.The Texas A&M University, Texas State University and University of Houston systems no longer will require job candidates to submit statements surrounding their commitment to diversity, equity and inclusion, the latest responses in higher education to Republican-led threats against diverse hiring programs.
Texas A&M System Chancellor John Sharp last week directed his 11 universities and eight agencies to follow the changes, including in admissions. “No university or agency in the A&M System will admit any student, nor hire any employee based on any factor other than merit,” Sharp said. Texas State Chancellor Brian McCall shared similar instructions to the seven institutions in his system on the same day as Sharp. UH System Chancellor Renu Khator followed suit a day later, adding that her four universities will not continue using DEI “statements or factors” in hiring or promotion. “The University of Houston System embraces diversity and understands and believes that it is our responsibility to foster an open, welcoming environment where students, faculty and staff of all backgrounds can collaboratively learn, work and serve,” she said in an email to the system community. “We will continue to ensure our policies are consistent with state and federal laws, and we stand against any actions or activities which promote discrimination in the guise of diversity, equity, and inclusion.” The orders make the three systems the latest higher education institutions to submit to pressure on diverse hiring practices, after Gov. Greg Abbott’s chief of staff sent a letter on Feb. 6 warning state agencies, including public universities, that programs based in diversity, equity and inclusion might run afoul of anti-discrimination laws. While some advocates argue that Abbott’s attacks are founded on a misunderstanding of such practices, the University of Texas System’s board chairman announced last month that all of its campuses were directed to pause new DEI policies and review their current practices, the Austin American-Statesman first reported. Sharp’s directive came shortly after. Abbott is one of many conservative Republicans nationwide seeking to eliminate diverse hiring programs, arguing that they potentially discriminate against job candidates if some demographic groups are favored over others. Defenders of DEI hiring programs say that the goal is not to discriminate, but to create more diverse pools of applicants to be considered for positions and assure that people of all backgrounds have the same chances at advancement. Diversity hiring programs vary from university to university. At UT, each college, school and unit has a diversity, equity and inclusion officer as well as a website to highlight the importance of those efforts, a change made after campuswide student protests in 2017 led to the removal of statues of Confederate soldiers like Robert E. Lee. On its website, Texas A&M’s Office of Diversity declares its responsibility to help academic units “embed diversity, equity, and inclusion in academic and institutional excellence.”
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