UT Austin Dean's Email Highlights Focus on Diversity Metrics in Hiring Amidst Shifting DEI Landscape

An email exchange, acquired through a public records request, reveals a University of Texas at Austin diversity dean's emphasis on maintaining specific diversity numbers in faculty hiring pools. The communication, tweeted by John Sailer, features Professor Carma Gorman inquiring of John Yancey, then Vice President for Diversity and Community Engagement, whether her search committee's candidate pool was sufficiently diverse to proceed.

According to the tweet, Dean Yancey affirmed the pool's diversity but cautioned that > "if the numbers dropped 'then things don’t look good anymore.'" This exchange underscores a focus on quantitative diversity metrics within the university's hiring processes. Professor Gorman is a faculty member in UT Austin's Department of Art and Art History.

The revelation comes as Texas universities, including UT Austin, are actively dismantling diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) offices and programs in compliance with Senate Bill 17 (SB 17). This state law, which went into effect on January 1, 2024, prohibits state-funded institutions from maintaining DEI initiatives. UT Austin announced in April 2024 its decision to close its Division of Campus and Community Engagement, which previously housed many of its DEI functions and where Yancey served.

The email provides a snapshot of the internal discussions and considerations regarding diversity in hiring that occurred prior to or during the implementation of SB 17. It highlights the institutional pressure or guidance placed on search committees to ensure diverse candidate pools. The public disclosure of such internal communications through records requests reflects ongoing scrutiny of DEI practices in higher education.

The incident is set against a backdrop of broader legislative and public debate over the role and implementation of DEI initiatives in academic institutions. As universities navigate the new legal landscape, the focus shifts to how institutions will continue to pursue diversity goals, if at all, without the formal structures previously in place. The email exchange offers insight into the specific metrics and expectations that were at play in faculty recruitment.