Major University Eyes Forcing Professors to Pledge to 'Diversity, Equity and Inclusion' or Have Their Tenures Denied

A Tennessee institution is taking a stand for inclusion by threatening to exclude those who don’t stand for inclusivity.

So far as I can tell, contemporary adult society is mostly one big high school — coolness is king. And in some circles, at least, “diversity, equity, and inclusion” is all the rage.

In corporate America and even the military, DEI has soared. And on college campuses nationwide, it’s taken colossal hold.

Take, for example, the University of Tennessee, Knoxville’s latest turn.

The College Fix has reportedly obtained 322 pages of new diversity guidelines for the roughly 30,000-student school, spanning 20 administrative and academic departments.

Per the plans, UTK will team with the Critical Race Collective in order to establish an all-new center. The partnership’s purpose: to “enhance research and scholarship capacity in [Critical Race Theory] and identify current racist policies and practices on campus.”

If there are racially prejudiced policies on campus, it seems they would be easy to detect. Such would surely be reported by those victimized, and given that all regulations are doubtlessly in writing, maybe a quick word search of “because they’re black,” etc., would be a simpler and cheaper track to finally ending the university’s wretched racism.

For now, if they believe embedded bigotry plagues their practices, the school should shut down until all discriminatory parts can be expunged.

By contrast, UT Knoxville’s going full-steam ahead.

From the Fix:

[The College of Law intends] to embed diversity and inclusion “throughout the existing curriculum” by spring 2022 as well as launch a bias reporting system separate from the one maintained by the school. It will also create a certificate program in diversity and inclusion within the college.

According to an email by Assistant Director of News and Information Kerry Gardner, UTK is “committed to attracting and retaining a diverse student body, faculty, and staff by creating a welcoming campus where all people can be successful, feel like they have found a place to belong, learn from each other, and express themselves.”

In October 2020, the school’s Board of Trustees issued a “diversity statement.”

In part:

[We recognize] that diversity in the educational environment…adds value to the educational experience and the degree earned. Interacting with people from diverse backgrounds and perspectives augments the curricular experience and affords every student the opportunity to gain the knowledge and skills necessary to be a productive and contributing citizen of this state and nation, capable of competing in a global society. Thus, diversity is fundamental to a sound twenty-first century education.

As for those different “perspectives,” might they run the gamut of social and political ideology, or does UTK define such a thing as merely different colors of skin?

That remains unclear, but as part of its racism review, the school proposes that a “small working group…conduct a historical review of every named building and major outdoor space on campus to ensure that all spaces reflect a positive antiracist legacy.”

Additionally, the immediate creation of two faculty lines in Africana studies is recommended.

Those with an affinity for racial division will be glad to learn of support for segregated “affinity groups.”

In the College of Nursing, a plan’s on the docket to “increase awareness of cultural competence through the consideration of a policy for recognition of non-Judeo-Christian holidays.”

And the School of Social Work will increase scholarships for those aiming to work “promoting social justice and antiracism.”

The School of Architecture intends to demolish racism in building design by “opening dialogs of discrimination, repression and injustice that are embedded in the design disciplines and how these experiences shape the designers’ work.”

Perhaps most remarkably, the College of Law wants to create bylaws “that require a commitment to diversity for faculty tenure and advancement.”

Like God, so far as I can tell, inclusion works in mysterious ways.

Back to diversity, it may also.

Unfortunately — if my guess is right — the “diversity” in which UTK believes is largely one related to epidermal tint, thereby inflaming arbitrary division and further flushing the cultural commode on America’s once-sought colorblind unity.

Perhaps I’m completely off-base.

Either way, here’s to hoping UT Knoxville enjoys a magical year.

The school is evidently giving that a go, as it waves its wand of wokeness.

Tennessee University Segregates Students for 'Antiracism' Training, Hails the Absence of White People as 'Magical'
https://t.co/ejPDVolHQQ

— RedState (@RedState) September 6, 2021