UTSA has reversed plans announced at the end of 2023 to open a new department following the closure of its Office of Inclusive Excellence in response to the Texas Legislature’s Senate Bill 17, which puts restrictions on state colleges and universities using funds for programs associated with Diversity, Equity and Inclusion. The law went into effect on the first of the year.
The move has dampened morale on campus, with some faculty unsure what the reversal signals about the future of the campus environment, according to an executive committee member of a local chapter of the American Association of University Professors (AAUP).
The professor spoke on the condition of anonymity, citing UTSA policies against speaking to the media, which were reiterated to staff following the announcement.
“There is a lot of fear, a lot of dread,” the AAUP member said. “People have been really scared to speak out … especially among faculty of color.”
The new office, which was slated to be called the Office of Campus and Community Belonging, was announced in an email to staff, faculty and students from UTSA President Taylor Eighmy in early December. The office was to focus on three pillars: ADA & accessibility, campus climate and community partnership bridges.
In another email to staff sent on Jan. 2, Eighmy said that office would no longer be opened.
“Given our evolving understanding of SB 17 as well as continuing voluntary changes in staffing and personnel reappointments from that office, it no longer made sense to launch the new office,” he said in the email.
What exactly those voluntary staffing changes are were not shared in the email, and a spokesperson referred back to the emailed statement without answering specific questions about where staff from the original office are being moved.
In his initial email, Eighmy said the new office would be staffed largely by personnel from the original office.
“The individuals who previously served in the Office of Inclusive Excellence will now have new roles with updated responsibilities to support the Office of Campus and Community Belonging’s purpose, goals and services,” he said in the December email.
While more updates are expected in terms of how the new law will impact the university, Eighmy said that the responsibilities envisioned for the new program will instead be filtered into existing offices and divisions to “realign ADA and disability services, campus climate and community engagement activities.”
That approach will be “more efficient as we continue to serve our campus community,” Eighmy said in the Jan. 2 email.
Other colleges across the state have taken similar steps in response to the law, which was cited among other issues in a survey that found that faculty and staff in Texas are not happy with their positions, and are considering leaving.
Several campus and student groups also have had to change names or stop operating because of the new law, according to interviews with staff, although a list of those groups has not been shared.
Senate Bill 17 also requires state colleges and universities to remove any preferences based on race or sex in hiring practices. While the law has exceptions for content in classrooms, the AAUP member shared that some teachers in disciplines that include diversity and equity as core parts of curriculum have faced trepidation when planning for the spring semester without assurance from the administration that the law does not restrict content being taught in the classroom.
A spokesperson for UTSA did not respond to questions about the impacts the law could have in the classroom.
With the reversal, faculty and staff are looking for ways to protect the colleagues who they see as vulnerable moving forward.
“We need to switch from a strategy of helping the university comply, to a strategy of organizing faculty on behalf of academic freedom, on behalf of job security on behalf of the most vulnerable faculty members,” the AAUP member said.
