UT Austin is eliminating multiple staff positions focused on diversity, equity and inclusion in the latest effort to comply with Texas' anti-DEI law.UT Austin closed its Multicultural Engagement Center, which housed student groups like Latinx Community Affairs, the Asian Desi Pacific Islander American Collective, and Queer and Trans Black Indigenous People of Color and Allies. It also shut down Monarch, a program that offered support and scholarships to undocumented students.
"The new law has changed the scope of some programs on campus, making them broader and creating duplication with long-standing existing programs supporting students, faculty, and staff," President Jay Hartzell wrote in an email to the UT community.to other parts of the university. It will also reassign some employees focused on DEI to other duties, while laying off others.
"This letter should serve as notice that this practice is unacceptable — and also a reminder that SB 17 encompasses stringent enforcement provisions, including the potential freezing of university funding and legal ramifications for non-compliance," Creighton wrote.