Today, the Texas Public Policy Foundation congratulates the National Association of Scholars (NAS) on the release of its report, “Comprehensive Restructuring: Diversity Equity and Inclusion (DEI) at the University of Texas.” The report finds that the UT-Austin’s DEI initiatives push a clear ideological agenda rooted in controversial claims about race, gender, oppression, and white privilege.
“In this report, NAS chronicles how UT-Austin gave in to student demands in 2016, when they called for a complete overhaul of the university to address dubious social justice concerns. The university created a massive and bloated bureaucracy of so-called ‘diversity, equity and inclusion’ programs that now permeate every aspect of university life, dividing students based on phony critical race and gender theories,” said Sherry Sylvester, a Distinguished Senior Fellow at TPPF.
The report found UT-Austin routinely trains students and faculty using the writings of Ibram X. Kendi, author of “The Anti-Racist Baby” and other books and Robin DiAngelo, a professor in “whiteness studies” and author of “White Fragility.” The UT-Austin curriculum is riddled with their ideas and critical race theory, which actually discriminates against individuals based on their race.
TPPF is advocating a number of higher education reforms in the current legislative session including examining the ways Texas’ colleges and universities are held accountable to ensure parents and students have reliable and transparent information about college quality. TPPF also supports legislation that will ensure that equality, freedom of speech and open intellectual inquiry are top priorities at all Texas academic institutions going forward.