Critics warn schools are skirting Texas DEI ban after university shuffles DEI officials to other departments

Texas A&M University responded to a authorities rule banning diversity, equity and inclusion connected assemblage campuses by giving nan section caput a raise earlier reassigning her and different labor to different departments. It sparked concerns schools are attempting to further "embed" nan arguable believe astatine Texas universities contempt nan law.

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott signed a rule banning DEI connected assemblage campuses successful June 2023. In nan months that followed, documents obtained by Fox News Digital show Texas A&M reassigned respective DEI labor to different departments, including nan vice president of nan program, who received a 10% raise, a caller position and a nine-month paid leave.

A archive obtained done a FOIA petition showed that, successful August 2023, Annie McGowan, vice president for diversity, was fixed "a 5% net summation successful nickname of your performance" and "to reside equity issues you will person an further 5%."

The post-DEI measure moves person raised concerns that universities successful Texas are reshuffling DEI officials while still encouraging them to proceed their efforts done different positions.

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"The activity astatine Texas A&M are doubling down connected their fealty to DEI ideology alternatively of directing resources to programs that beforehand world excellence," Dr. Stanley Goldfarb, president of Do No Harm, told Fox News Digital.

"Giving nan erstwhile DEI caput a raise explicitly connected nan ground of alleged equity and redistributing unit successful nan disbanded DEI section to different administrative jobs is an effort to embed DEI into each department, blatantly ignoring nan Texas rule passed to prohibition specified practices. This ideology is corrosive to nan ngo of and spot successful our institutions of higher education. It must end." 

Texas A&M has suggested since nan passage of nan bill it is still focused connected incorporating DEI principles done its faculty.

"Just to beryllium clear, astatine Texas A&M, we will proceed to support a welcoming situation for all, and we will proceed to appreciate, respect and harness nan unsocial perspectives each of you bring to this institution," Texas A&M President Mark A. Welsh wrote successful September 2023.

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Universities person progressively moved toward DEI. (Fox News Digital )

"Diversity of thought is simply a cornerstone of awesome universities, and, rather frankly, it’s a cardinal constituent to our continued success. Implementation of S.B. 17 will not alteration that."

Several different universities person indicated they proceed promoting DEI principles contempt nan law, The Federalist reported earlier this year.

Texas universities began laying disconnected labor from DEI departments successful consequence to nan bill, and Republican State Sen. Brandon Creighton, who wrote nan bill, precocious warned authorities colleges should return nan authorities "very seriously" and not effort to skirt it pinch sneaky workarounds aliases they will face financial penalties. 

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"I person bonzer concerns that universities successful Texas are doing everything they tin to skirt our caller rule and proceed promoting leftist divisive DEI astatine nan taxpayers' disbursal but conscionable nether a caller name," Republican Texas State Rep. Brian Harrison told Fox News Digital. 

A Texas A&M University spokesperson told Fox News Digital 5% of nan raise for McGowan was a "standard merit summation for her activity complete nan erstwhile year" and nan different 5% was "a net accommodation granted by nan erstwhile president to guarantee fairness and parity comparative to her peers wrong nan schoolhouse wherever she teaches." The spokesperson said nan salary bumps were not related to DEI practices.

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The spokesperson added nan assemblage is "dedicated to upholding nan law. Last year, we implemented a broad model of measures and protocols to guarantee we meet those ineligible obligations efficaciously and responsibility.

"We admit nan opportunity to explain this misconception because it is not meticulous whatsoever," nan spokesperson said. "Texas A&M is pursuing nan caller laws. DEI-related occupation duties person been eliminated crossed nan university. As we proceed to germinate and accommodate to meet nan needs of our student body, our committedness to world excellence astatine Texas A&M will stay astatine nan forefront of everything we do.

"Texas A&M’s Office for Diversity had 8 positions, each of which were eliminated, on pinch programs and initiatives anterior to Jan. 1, 2024, which is erstwhile S.B. 17 went into effect," nan spokesperson continued. "The assemblage was capable to place unfastened positions that aligned pinch each person’s accomplishment set. Six of nan 8 took A&M up connected nan connection to move into a caller occupation connected campus, while nan different 2 decided to leave.

"A mates twelve positions university-wide carried varying DEI-related responsibilities, pinch nary exceeding 25% of their wide duties. The Human Resources & Organizational Effectiveness group collaborated pinch supervisors to region each DEI-related duties and create caller responsibilities for those employees."

Harrison told Fox News Digital Republican lawmakers successful Texas are moving to make judge universities are not capable to skirt nan anti-DEI law.

"We person each these leftist Marxist professors, and I want to get free of them," Harrison told Fox News Digital. "Because I don't want my constituents being forced to salary for that. If anyone wants to spell study this leftist garbage, they tin do that. But my constituents are not going to salary for that, complete my dormant body."