TN legislators defund diversity program at U. of Tennessee

by Austin Stallings
Journalism Intern

NASHVILLE – A bill to strip the University of Tennessee’s Office for Diversity and Inclusion of all state funding has passed the Tennessee House and Senate. It now heads to Republican Governor Bill Haslam’s desk.

Both the Senate and House passed a modified version of the bill Thursday that would divert all funds designated as salaries for the office - a total of $436,700 - to minority engineering scholarships.

“State funds shall not be expended by the University of Tennessee to promote the use of gender neutral pronouns, to promote or inhibit the celebration of religious holidays, or to fund or support sex week,” reads the bill.

In the amended version of the bill, funding would only be relocated to scholarships for the 2016-2017 fiscal year. After that period of time, the bill would sunset, unless lawmakers approved an extension next year. 

The House had previously approved a version that would have sent $100,000 to a program to produce “In God We Trust” decals for police cars.

“Our commitment to diversity and inclusion has not been diluted.  Diversity remains a priority for us and we will continue our efforts to make sure everyone on our campus is valued and respected.  While we are disappointed that the legislature chose to remove funds from the Office of Diversity and Inclusion, we remain committed to creating a welcoming environment,” said UT Chancellor Jimmy Cheek in a statement.

State lawmakers said this move will not defund all diversity efforts at UT.

The Gayly 4/22/16 @ 3:17 p.m. CDT