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The University of North Texas has eliminated employee groups for women, people of color and other communities in response to SB 17, Texas’s bill banning diversity, equity and inclusion in higher education, The Dallas Morning News reported.
In an email to employees on Tuesday, Michael McPherson, UNT’s provost and vice president for academic affairs, said the groups would be cut effective immediately. Working with the institution’s general counsel, UNT “determined that continuation of these groups creates ongoing issues with the university being in full compliance with the law,” McPherson wrote.
The cuts include Faculty Senate committees for women, people of color and LGBTQ+ employees, as well as a number of networking groups, including those for new faculty, Christians, Asians and Pacific Islanders, Black employees, and employees who were born in other countries.
Other Faculty Senate committees were unaffected, including one for faculty with disabilities.
Some faculty told the Morning News they thought the employee groups should not have been slashed because they focused on mentorship and peer support, not DEI trainings, which are banned under SB 17.
