Sources: At least 20 UT employees linked to DEI to lose their jobs

The University of Texas Austin has "eliminated" its positions and programs in connection with the Division of Campus and and Community Engagement (DCCE). This is due to Senate Bill 17, "which prohibits many activities around diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI)," UT President Jay Hartzell said in an email to the campus on Tuesday.

AUSTIN (KXAN)—Several sources have confirmed with KXAN that at least 20 employees from the University of Texas at Austin, who worked within the realm of diversity, equity and inclusion, have been terminated.

In an email to the campus on Tuesday, UT President Jay Hartzell said the university has "eliminated" its positions and programs under the Division of Campus and and Community Engagement (DCCE). This is due to Senate Bill 17, "which prohibits many activities around diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI)."

KXAN spoke with an employee who works on DCCE's operation team who said they were called to an emergency meeting on Tuesday morning where they were notified they were being let go, effective July 5.

The passage of SB 17 has led the campus to evaluate its "post-SB 17 portfolio of divisions, programs, and positions," Hartzell said in the email. This comes exactly one week after State Sen. Brandon Creighton warned institutions of consequences, if they don't comply with SB 17.

Creighton sent a letter requesting university leaders to report their compliance efforts at a May hearing of the Senate Committee on Education.

Hartzell said the school is discontinuing the programs within DCCE that overlap with other campus efforts. As a result, the university has made the decision to close DCCE and redistribute the remaining programs.

"This means that we will continue to operate many programs with rich histories spanning decades, such as disability services, University Interscholastic League, the UT charter schools, and volunteer and community programs," Hartzell said.

The university has also made the decision to redeploy funding used to support DEI initiatives across campus (prior to SB 17's effective date) to support teaching and research.

"As part of this reallocation, associate or assistant deans who were formerly focused on DEI will return to their full-time faculty positions. The positions that provided support for those associate and assistant deans and a small number of staff roles across campus that were formerly focused on DEI will no longer be funded," Hartzell said.

SB 17 went into effect Jan. 1, and this was a way to "ensure" the university made the changes needed once the bill went into effect, Hartzell said.

"I recognize that strong feelings have surrounded SB 17 from the beginning and will shape many Longhorns’ perceptions of these measures," he said.

The university said its Division of Student Affairs will work with staff members whose positions are being eliminated and resources will be made available to support them.

Creighton told KXAN last week that although SB 17 was a way to regulate faculty hiring, some universities were "very cautious."

Furthermore, he said universities who were noncompliant could result in the freezing of state funding or legal action.