University of Memphis Silent on Whether it Will Allow Player Who Plead Down Nine Gun Charges Back on Basketball Team

Mikey Williams Basketball

The University of Memphis (UM) would not say Saturday whether it plans to allow Mikey Williams, a star basketball player, to return to the team after he pleaded guilty Thursday to a felony gun charge in order to avoid prison time. 

According to several reports, Williams pleaded guilty to one felony count of making a criminal threat stemming from am April shooting outside his California home. 

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Tennessee Universities Refuse Comment on How They Will Implement New Intellectual Diversity Law

Public university leaders in Tennessee are staying silent on how and when they plan to follow a new state law that requires them to implement intellectual diversity on their campuses.

Diversity offices, presidents’ offices, and media affairs’ divisions at the University of Tennessee Knoxville, University of Memphis, Tennessee State University and East Tennessee State University have not responded with answers to emails and phone calls from The College Fix over the last 10 days asking about their plans to follow the relatively new law.

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University of Memphis Cancels Social Justice Initiative Following Backlash

The University of Memphis will cancel an initiative that encouraged faculty members to alter their current courses to incorporate “diversity, equity, inclusion and social justice” curriculum, according to a new report from the Washington Free Beacon and Tennessee Governor Bill Lee.

The program, entitled “Eradicating Systemic Racism and Promoting Social Justice Initiative,” received widespread backlash from lawmakers that represent the state.

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Senator Marsha Blackburn Criticizes University of Memphis Course Changes

Senator Marsha Blackburn (R-TN) on Tuesday criticized the University of Memphis for awarding additional funds to educators as a part of their “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.

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University of Memphis Lectures on Importance of Critical Race Theory

Dr. Walls speaking on a panel of the importance of CRT

The University of Memphis (UofM) Benjamin L. Hooks Institute recently hosted a lecture on the importance of critical race theory. The speakers maintained that critical race theory was a vital, necessary part of all levels of education because it offers the true history and understanding of this country.

The virtual discussion streamed June 22 with panelists Dr. Kami Anderson, a communications professor; Dr. Wallis Baxter III, a pastor and professor of African American literature at Gettysburg College; Dr. Le’Trice Donaldson, University of Wisconsin-Stout assistant history professor in applied social sciences; and Daniel Kiel, a constitutional, education, and civil rights and property law professor at Cecil C. Humphreys School of Law.

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University of Memphis Interdisciplinary Center Promoting Critical Race Theory Awarded $40,000

An interdisciplinary center at the University of Memphis (UofM) that lectured on the importance of critical race theory received a $40,000 donation last Thursday.

The donor, Truist Financial Corporation, gave the Benjamin L. Hooks Institute for Social Change grant money to further their Hooks African American Male Initiative (HAAMI). Within the initiative, the money will go toward advancing the Hooks Institute Career-Readiness Success Initiative, which offers workforce development and financial literacy. The grant will also assist the institute’s women’s enrichment pilot program called A Seat at the Table (ASATT). 

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University of Memphis to Raise Minimum Wage to $15 by June

The University of Memphis (UofM) will raise its minimum wage from $13 to $15 an hour, starting June 5. 

In a copy of the email obtained by The Tennessee Star, university faculty and staff were informed by President Dr. David Rudd on Tuesday that the raise was a culmination of adjustments done over the past year. Rudd shared that some of they’d implemented a hiring freeze, reduction in operational costs, and forms of attrition.

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University of Tennessee and University of Memphis Have Several Title IX Complaints Filed Against Them

People in Tennessee lodged far more Title IX discrimination complaints against the University of Tennessee and the University of Memphis than other public entities in the state that take federal money, according to a new report. In laymen’s terms, that means a lot of people allege school officials discriminated against them because of their gender. More specifically, Title IX says no education program that takes federal taxpayer money can discriminate based on sex, and it includes protections against sexual harassment. According to a new report from Tennessee Comptrollers, the University of Memphis had 153 Title IX complaints in Fiscal Year 2018, a slight increase from 152 in Fiscal Year 2017. Schools in the University of Tennessee System, meanwhile, had 162 Title IX complaints in Fiscal Year 2018. The UT system had 166 such complaints in Fiscal Year 2017 and 129 in Fiscal Year 2016, according to the Comptrollers’ report. In an emailed statement, Kenneth P. Anderson, the University of Memphis’ Title IX coordinator for the Office of Institutional Equity, said the high number of complaints is “a positive.” “They speak to the University’s efforts to seriously address interpersonal violence and sexual misconduct,” Anderson told The Tennessee Star. “The University of…

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Memphis Needs $200,000 to Study Why Kids Gain Weight

Steve Cohen

The Feds are forcing taxpayers to fork over nearly $200,000 so researchers in Memphis can analyze whether stress makes kids fat. U.S. Rep. Steve Cohen, (D-TN-9), announced the money, exactly $189,929, in a press release late last week. The National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases — part of the federal Department of Health and Human Services — gave the money to the University of Memphis. The formal name of the project is The Impact of Stress and Resilience on Obesity-Related Metabolic Complications in Adolescents. “Childhood obesity is a national epidemic and Tennessee’s childhood obesity rate is a staggering 38 percent,” Cohen said in the release. The national childhood obesity rate is 31 percent. “This award will help researchers at the University of Memphis study youth obesity, its causes, and find solutions on how to reduce it,” Cohen said. More specifically, according to the press release, the grant will fund research to study “the relationship between stress and resilience in youth and how it can lead to childhood obesity.” Cohen defined resilience as how “one adapts to trauma, tragedy, and threats.” Idia Binitie Thurston, the Director of CHANGE Lab at the University of Memphis, will lead the research…

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Memphis Teens Learn About Stock Market And Financial Literacy

For a group of teens in Memphis, summer isn’t just a time to kick back and relax – it’s a time to get serious about financial literacy. Sixteen teens are participating in a three-week boot camp, held at the University of Memphis, to learn about the stock market and how to manage their finances in the future. The Shelby County Trustee’s Office, Bank on Memphis, SouthernSun Asset Management and Channing Capital are sponsoring the camp, reports WREG News Channel 3. Young WallStreet Traders, an Atlanta-based nonprofit, is leading the camp. The focus is on minorities who are underrepresented in the financial industry, founder and CEO Erika Blair told WREG. Students in the Memphis program had to apply and be interviewed to be accepted. “To me, it’s a once in a lifetime opportunity,” said 15-year-old Imsety Ayetoro, who got hooked on stocks after coming across them on the internet a few months ago. It’s the second year for the boot camp to be held in Memphis and the first time all enrollment fees are covered by scholarships. After leaving Memphis, camp organizers will move on to help teens in the New York and New Jersey area.

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