The University of Tennessee (UT) System is reportedly rebranding its Division of Diversity and Engagement in order to “better reflect the division’s mission, as well as move away from some potentially divisive terminology,” according to The Daily Beacon.
The division’s mission, according to its website, is to “actively support, foster and enhance environments of inclusion where the diversity of all faculty, staff, and students are connected to fully engage in fair, respectful, and equitable campus experiences throughout the University of Tennessee community.”
The Beacon, the student newspaper of UT, reports that the university’s Division of Diversity and Engagement will soon be renamed as the “Division of Access and Engagement.”
With the name change, according to the outlet, UT hopes to “move towards prioritizing blanket access to higher education across the state.”
However, Guy Harrison, the newly-appointed director of DEI for the School of Journalism and Media, said the move is “an effort to detract attention from state politicians who have begun to take issue with discussions of diversity in recent years.”
“We are in a very ultra-conservative state, and there are political actors who would completely do away with DEI, whether it’s the title or the work that we do,” Harrison said, according to the outlet. “And this kind of protects us from them a little bit. But I wish it wasn’t necessary … we shouldn’t need to whitewash the word diversity out of things, just not to alarm certain people.”
The name change came after the Tennessee General Assembly passed a law (SB2290/HB2670) last year prohibiting universities from mandating training related to “divisive concepts,” as designed by the legislation. The law further restricts state funds from being used to provide faculty with incentives to include divisive concepts in the curriculum.
Despite the division’s rebranding, UT provided a statement to The Beacon confirming its commitment to the university’s Board of Trustees’ Diversity Statement.
UT’s Diversity Statement, as provided on the university’s website, states:
One of the principal missions of The University of Tennessee is to provide quality educational opportunities for the people of this state. One measure of the quality of an educational experience is the extent to which it enables the recipient to compete and be productive in society and contribute to the quality of life. The Board of Trustees recognizes that diversity in the educational environment, including an outstanding and diverse student body, faculty, staff, and alumni, and an environment conducive to learning, adds value to the educational experience and the degree earned. Interacting with people from diverse backgrounds and perspectives augments the curricular experience and affords every student the opportunity to gain the knowledge and skills necessary to be a productive and contributing citizen of this state and nation, capable of competing in a global society. Thus, diversity is fundamental to a sound twenty-first century education.
The Board affirms the educational value of a diverse and fully inclusive campus community, one that is enriched by persons of different backgrounds, points of view, cultures, socioeconomic status, and other diverse characteristics. The Board expects the University to engage in a variety of initiatives to advance diversity in all aspects of University life.
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Kaitlin Housler is a reporter at The Tennessee Star and The Star News Network. Follow Kaitlin on X / Twitter.
Photo “University of Tennessee Students” by University of Tennessee, Knoxville.
I wonder what the DEI “mission statement” promotes at Tennessee State University? Are they also committed to a diverse campus community?
“A rose by any other name would smell as sweet . . . “
Yep. And crap still stinks, regardless of what it is called…
This is pure nonsense, a waste of tax payer monies and a great injustice to the tuition paying student. It is not the name of the department, it is the services within that are the problem. DEI is at best providing nothing more than jobs to servants of the left. Universities, faculty and administrators alike, need to be in place based on meritocracy not democrat lunacy.
It would be interesting to see how many of the Diverse Staff & Students who are benefiting from Tennessee Tax Payers, could tell you who Davy Crockett & his Volunteers were & what heroic things they did. They couldn’t tell you who Sargeant Alvin C York is. They couldn’t tell you what General Andrew Jackson did to save this country. I bet the Board of Trustees couldn’t tell you either. I want our State Legislature & Attorney General to investigate why the UT Board of Trustees thinks it does not have to abide by Tennessee State Law. Hol them accountable. They have a fiduciary responsibility. I want them brought before a committee & stream a hearing where these Deep State Tyrants must answer under oath to the Tennessee Tax Payers.
Thanks to DEI, it will be unsafe to fly bc Pilots & Air Traffic Controllers are hired based on color or sex diversity (trans) rather than skill & ability. Same for the Medical Community. We already see what it has done to our Military. Two perfect examples are our Federal Health & Human Services & Transportation Secretaries. The best & the brightest will be no more. Meritocracy down the toilet.
Who are these Marxists who do not think they must abide by our laws? They must be exposed & eliminated. Do these “Trustees” get paid with our Tax dollars? What’s in it for them?
Our kids are being brainwashed by Marxists to turn this country upside down. Good example are the “college nuts” supporting Hamas, & demonizing our best ally in the Middle East. The only way to save this country is at the State Level bc right now the Federal Level is in Communism mode. Stop taking Marxist Federal Dollars.
different name same marxism.
randy boyd, what a failure
“A rose by any other name would smell as sweet . . . “
Equity/Inclusion operates on the flawed principle that all people are equally qualified, and one can just merely “plug in” someone of a different race to achieve racial equality.
Professional sports is the eyesore to this theory.
Professional sports teams operate on useful output, without regard to race.
To disprove the Equity/inclusion theory, one only has to “plug in” racially diverse people into a sports team, and watch the resulting decline.
They can rename it whatever they want, it simply needs to be wiped out completely. “DEI” needs to DIE.
At this point it goes without question that the entire UT Board of Trustees are nothing more than a ship without a rudder and Randy Boyd stands in the Wheel House spinning the wheel in whatever direction the mindless media and looney left want to take him. I wonder when it will dawn on them that the term The Volunteer State refers to the number of men that were willing to fight and die for the preservation of Freedom and Liberty, and how long after that until they tear it down.