Texas A&M University announces it will immediately remove diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) statements from admissions and hiring.
College Will “Include Everyone” by Removing Inclusion
“No university or agency in the A&M System will admit any student, nor hire any employee based on any factor other than merit,” the system’s Chancellor John Sharp, said in a statement posted on the university system’s website. The A&M System includes 11 institutions spread across the state of Texas.
The Texas A&M University System said immediately after receiving Texas Gov. Greg Abbott’s letter on DEI policies in February, Sharp ordered all A&M system institutions to review their employment and admission practices and confirm their compliance with Abbott’s memo which called DEI policies illegal in hiring.
Last week, the University of Texas System announced it was pausing its DEI policies on its campuses.
The New System
The Texas A&M University System said immediately after receiving Texas Gov. Greg Abbott’s letter on DEI policies in February, Sharp ordered all A&M system institutions to review their employment and admission practices and confirm their compliance with Abbott’s memo which called DEI policies illegal in hiring.
“Given the clear legislative focus, we have paused any new DEI policies on our campuses and have asked for reports on current policies on our campuses,” Chairman Kevin Eltife said during Wednesday’s board meeting. “This will give our board a chance to review the various policies system-wide.”
What is DEI?
Diversity, equity and inclusion is a moniker used for policies developed to provide guidance in workplaces, government offices and college campuses intended to increase representation and foster an environment that emphasizes fair treatment to groups that have historically faced discrimination.
DEI policies can include resources for underrepresented groups, which can include people with disabilities, LGBTQ people and veterans. In hiring, it can include setting diversity goals or setting thresholds to ensure that a certain number of diverse candidates are interviewed.
At universities, DEI offices are often focused on helping students of color or nontraditional students stay in school and graduate.
Defenders of DEI hiring programs say that the goal is not to discriminate, but to create more diverse pools of applicants to be considered for positions and assure that people of all backgrounds have the same chances at advancement.
Sharp wrote on Thursday that he has now standardized the faculty and staff application process, limiting candidates to a cover letter, their curriculum vitae, statements about research and teaching philosophies and professional references.
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