The University of Texas at Arlington (UTA) remains one of the few major public colleges in Texas yet to fully clarify their DEI practices in response to an ongoing investigative series by The Dallas Express.
The investigation is based on potential violations of Senate Bill 17, a new law banning Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) initiatives at taxpayer-funded higher education institutions.
SB 17, which took effect on January 1 last year, prohibits public universities from maintaining DEI offices, employing DEI officers, or requiring diversity statements and related training. Yet, as The Dallas Express has previously reported, job postings at institutions across the state, including the University of Texas at Austin, Texas A&M, and the University of North Texas, have included language that appears to show a shaky understanding of the statute.
UTA’s role in the series became more prominent when a job listing for a Tenure Track Nursing Faculty position included the term “health equity” – language that somewhat echoes DEI-themed objectives. When pressed for clarification, a university official previously told The Dallas Express, “[UTA] is not trying to test the limits of the law, nor will the University tolerate non-compliance of the law. The job posting in question is seeking a nursing scholar committed to ensuring that individuals, families, and communities, regardless of geographic location or socioeconomic background, have access to quality healthcare.”
“In fact, as part of its commitment to limiting service barriers, UTA recently established its Center for Rural Health in an effort to grow the professional nursing workforce to meet the needs of rural communities,” the official added.
Yet, since that response, further attempts to obtain comment or documentation from UTA have been met with silence. As of publication, UTA’s media relations representative, Joe Carpenter, has not responded to multiple email requests for information on the university’s DEI stance.
The Dallas Express has repeatedly contacted UTA via email and phone with no formal response, despite UTA currently maintaining a payroll of multiple people on its dedicated media relations team.
The unanswered questions now place UTA at the center of attention, as many other major public universities have either responded to inquiries from The Dallas Express or made efforts to clarify their stances on any potentially illegal DEI practices.
For instance, the University of North Texas removed language from a Community Director job posting after The Dallas Express reached out. Similarly, Sam Houston State University retracted language referencing diversity initiatives from a Homeland Security professor role, calling it an “error.”
As this article adds to The Dallas Express‘ multi-part series on DEI in American universities, questions still loom: Will UTA publicly affirm its compliance with SB 17? And if not, what does that say about accountability in Texas’ colleges?
Regardless, the debate on the impact of DEI initiatives at American colleges still rages.
State Senator Brandon Creighton (R-Conroe) has previously argued that DEI frameworks are divisive and ineffective, while Rep. Ron Reynolds (D-Missouri City) and others have contrastingly warned that restricting DEI stifles open discussions on race, gender, and social justice.
What’s clear is that even in the absence of publicly declared DEI practices across the country, the philosophies behind faulty DEI practices continue to show face.
As for UTA, The Dallas Express will continue to seek clarity and update readers as the university responds – or fails to.