Dive Brief:
- The Senate education committee in TN voted last week to take away all state funding from UT Knoxville’s Office of Diversity and Inclusion; the office currently doesn’t get any federal dollars.
- The Knoxville News Sentinel reports the office has been a target of conservatives since it posted information on its website about gender-neutral pronouns and inclusive holiday parties, but the latest vote may not get past the full legislature.
- While the governor supports the office’s work, funded with a $5 million state appropriation, one legislator said it doesn’t accomplish anything and only runs “liberal feel-good programs.”
Dive Insight:
Many colleges and universities that did not have chief diversity officers or other similar positions last academic year have appointed them since the fall semester’s upheaval on campuses across the country. College leaders are seeing the value in having people entirely focused on campus climate, diversity and inclusiveness — or at least responding to student demands for the same. But a key factor in the success of these initiatives is support that stretches all the way to the top.
The TN Senate committee’s action is reflective of legislative micromanaging that public institutions are facing in many states. The boards of trustees in Michigan, Washington, Illinois, and North Carolina have faced such scrutiny in the last year.