Posted on 04/09/2024 9:47:13 PM PDT by 11th_VA
The University of Texas at Austin is laying off dozens of employees who previously worked in diversity, equity and inclusion roles in response to a state law that banned such programs, according to the Texas chapter of the American Association of University Professors.
Employees who had previously worked in DEI roles received layoff notices Tuesday. That came months after the university had reassigned them from those positions to comply with the legislation, which went into effect Jan. 1. The school declined to provide a specific tally of the number of people affected, though the AAUP said 60 is a “conservative estimate.” “None of the staff who received pink slips are currently working in DEI-related jobs,” Brian Evans, a UT professor and interim president of the Texas chapter of the AAUP, and Gary Bledsoe, president of the Texas NAACP, said in a joint statement. “These terminations clearly are intended to retaliate against employees because of their previous association with DEI.”
The layoffs came days after a conservative state legislator warned state universities to comply with the law banning DEI offices on campus, known as Senate Bill 17. The university president cited that law in announcing via email Tuesday that UT Austin would also close its Division of Campus and Community Engagement. At least 40 of those who were told they would be laid off used to work in that office, which supports an array of inclusion efforts, according to the advocates...
(Excerpt) Read more at washingtonpost.com ...
Conservative detractors of the law complained that it was watered down and contained no real enforcement mechanism (and I believed them, and agreed; ref https://www.powerlineblog.com/archives/2023/05/whats-the-matter-with-texas.php).
It’s interesting to me that UT, undoubtedly knowing the law was deficient in enforcement mechanisms, canned DEI staff anyway.
That suggests (to me, anyway) that the DEI function is in reality a thorn in the administration’s side and however “woke” these administrators are, they’re A-OK with blaming the law but using it to clean out this dysfunctional DEI nonsense anyway.
I’ll take it!! :-)
That’s a lot of dead wood. No wonder things cost so much.
Or it means they can easily disguise their DEI intentions within the greater bureaucracy.
DEI=Democrats’ Evil Intentions
60? I’m sure they could easily root out 600 and maybe even 6,000.
They are hiding them.
As far as I know, it has never been explained exactly what these 60 DEI employees did each day. They didn’t teach, they didn’t do research, wtf did they do?
On with the show.
Eavesdropped for evidence of wrongthink and counted minorities at bus stops.
Couldn’t happen to a more deserving bunch.
These must pretty much be unskilled people, worthy only of canning once their phony jobs were cancelled.
Didn't Blazing Saddles cover that?
👍👍👍👍👍
Halleluiah! hope this is a trend
The last line states that at least 40 worked in that department. This smells like fake compost news. There is a paywall so you don’t even know if they are receiving pay.
Using university funding for teaching and research. What a concept! Hopefully, it will catch on.
No because they were WORTHLESS
Those implementing the new law also sent a written warning to Aholes in charge. After the law was passed the Aholes re-named the DIE depts — to duck the law. So, they got a letter telling them that such shenanigans would not cut it and there would be an audit in May.
Sometimes yah just need to smack ‘em upside the head.
DEI = Didn’t Earn It.
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