Texas lawmakers, DEI advocates speak out against UT’s decision to terminate division [Video]

AUSTIN, Texas – Some state and city leaders are fighting against the University of Texas‘s decision to terminate at least 66 employees.

They want the university to reconsider its terminations.

“The battle now is really just beginning,” said Nelson Linder, the ​president of the Austin NAACP.

It started after UT said it would be closing down some programs in its Division of Campus and Community Engagement.

UT said associate or assistant deans will return to their prior full-time position and cut the remaining supporting positions to comply with Texas’ ban on DEI programs, which Republican lawmakers argued was used as a tool to push liberal philosophies.

Dr. Brian Evans, the interim president of the Texas Conference of the American Association of University Professors, said he’s heard from at least 66 UT faculty members who said they received a notice of termination. He thinks that number could grow.

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“They lost staff who provided the academic advising, the scholarships, connections …