Senator Marsha Blackburn (R-TN) on Tuesday criticized the University of Memphis for awarding additional funds to educators as a part of its “Eradicating Systemic Racism and Promoting Social Justice Initiative.”
The new initiative will provide a $3,000 stipend to professors who alter their courses to incorporate “diversity, equity, inclusion and social justice” curriculum.
According to Blackburn, the university, which is taxpayer-funded, should be using courses to allow students to think for themselves, instead of promoting a certain set of ideals or concepts.
“The University should be encouraging their students to be independent thinkers, expanding their world view, learning how to be lifelong learners and respectful of all,” said Blackburn in a statement to Fox News.
“Taxpayer dollars should not be used to fund a woke social justice agenda.”
In order to be picked, faculty members must submit a detailed plan to describe their course of action when including the preferred curriculum. According to an email from university leaders, 15-20 faculty members will be selected for the program, starting during the upcoming semester.
The stipend opportunity is a portion of the larger measure “to identify areas in need of reform and change, and implement that change to take another step in the direction of realizing the hope of a community defined by equality and justice.”
According to the Washington Free Beacon, which first reported the class transition, many faculty and staff members of the university have questioned the decision, as many higher-education institutions continue to balance financial factors from the coronavirus pandemic.
“Leadership at the University of Memphis should be ashamed for bribing professors to advance this useless teaching,” Congressman Tim Burchett (R-TN-02) told the Free Beacon. Students are better prepared for professional careers if they learn the three R’s—reading, writing, and arithmetic—instead of woke activism.”
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Cooper Moran is a reporter for The Star News Network. Follow Cooper on Twitter. Email tips to [email protected].
Photo “Sen. Marsha Blackburn” by Gage Skidmore CC BY-SA 2.0. Background Photo “University of Memphis” by University of Memphis.
one phone call from the governor would stop this.
Coming from Marsha Blackburn, that’s no surprise. She is such a disgusting racist!
No wonder this disgusting institution (and I do not use that word in a complimentary fashion) is rated as the 8th “best” university in Tennessee and 249th in the country. Doesn’t the state have at least some oversight on this disastrous place?
Good question, the state should absolutely have sway in any discussion as the monies used for these ridiculous bonuses are from the general tax fund.
Defund the Universities!
Should this bonus system move forward I fully agree with you Noal, the university should be defunded the full amount they dispense.
Alternate headline: Empty Suit Makes Empty Comment
“According to the Washington Free Beacon, which first reported the class transition, many faculty and staff members of the university have questioned the decision, as many higher-education institutions continue to balance financial factors from the coronavirus pandemic.”
Oh please. Give me a break. The only two entities that never feel the brunt of a recession or any economic downturn are the Federal Government and Universities. Maybe it is about time these Universities learn how to live like the rest of us and tighten their belts.
Talk, talk, talk. That’s all Ms Marsha seems to do effectively. Today is the 1 yr anniversary of Marsha showing Tennesseans her true colors, coward. #VotetheBumsOut!
Agreed, not to be forgotten !
The panel reviewing, thus awarding the stipend, ought not to be Memphis University administration who seemingly are beholden to the liberal left and the woke movement. Further these monies could be a way of providing faculty a salary bonus during a time when university budgets are stretched thin. There is no check and balance in the awarding panel. So, create a panel to include members from other, less liberal, higher education institutions. Further, the panel ought to be balanced to include a similar number from general society since the monies paid are from general tax revenues. Any supported stipend proposals would be supported across the spectrum of the people.
Good ole Rino Marsha! one year ago she broke her promise to Tennesseans, by failing to support the voter integrity act after promising Tennesseans she would support the legislation. Marsha kept her promise to Mitch McConnell and the Washington Swamp and supported the criticism of former President Trump! Marsha has been in Washington DC since 2003. How much has she enriched herself and family while being in Congress? Compare her net worth when going to Washington and what it is today! Insider information on stocks and companies developing technology. We need term limits. Marsha knows the right thing to do as Tennessee is a balanced budget state, and yet she continues to support Mitch McConnell and higher deficit spending! Please primary Rino Marsha!!!!
Now Trevor, Marsha has a lifetime score from the Heritage Foundation’s political arm of 87% and a lifetime score from the Club For Growth of 89%. Compare those scores with the following scores of the four simply awful Republican U.S. Senators who are fortunately retiring after this year:
Roy Blunt 60%/67%
Richard Burr 61%/74%
Ron Portman 57%/63%
Richard Shelby 75%/74%
Now if Marsha is a “RINO” what are those four? How about Mitch McConnell (64%/74%) or John Thune (66%/72%) and all too many other centrist/tepid conservative Republican officeholders?
We have a lot of work to do replacing those four simply awful retiring senators with conservatives who even now are seeking to take their place. Let’s be thankful that we have Marsha as our senator and keep our perspective by stop tossing around the word “RINO” whenever we disagree with a Republican politician.
The Voter Integrity Act is nothing but racist suppression of non-white voters by a small clique of rich whites who can’t bear to share power fairly with others! What a mis-nomer!
Where is the Tennessee legislature on this matter? Why can’t the conservative legislature cutoff funding for these liberal agenda, that publicly funded schools promote? Do we have any oversight on public tax dollars spending? We need term limits in Tennessee. Senator Randy McNally has been in office since 1979. We need to do away with retirement benefits for the part time legislators. All public employees should have retirement plans that mirror the private sector. Speaker Cameron Sexton please look into this gross misconduct at the University of Memphis.
University Of Memphis what a failed institution and social justice a complete joke! Its a democratic city not safe to even drive thru headed for complete ruin, anything the democrats touch they destroy. Mayor Commie “The Taxman” Cooper and his woke administration has Nashville not far behind. “Lets Go Brandon”