University of Utah accused of pressuring DEI despite state anti-DEI law
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First on Fox: A conservative watchdog group has released a video it says raises concerns that administrators at the University of Utah are continuing to push. Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI), possibly at odds with relatively new state anti-DEI laws.
“No, no comment,” University of Utah Education Coordinator Lucas Alvarez told Accuracy in the Media when asked about the DEI’s allegation of violations. 2024 Act Aim to curb DEI practices in state universities.
Accuracy in Media President Adam Gillett then showed a video of Alvarez explaining current DEI practices at the university.
“We’re still, I think, figuring out as we go, like, HB261,” Alvarez said in the video. “It’s complicated, I mean, like, the programs that we do, I think technically we’re still allowed to do that, but they have to be marketed in a certain way.”
A conservative watchdog group has released a video showing the rebranding of DEI at the University of Utah. (accuracy in media)
When pressed by Gillette on what he meant by the “marketing” change, Alvarez once again had no comment.
Alvarez was also pressed about another comment on the video that suggested DEI was still focused on the university, explaining that his department was “meeting with many campus partners” to do the “strategic work” of staying in “compliance” but that these partners had “academic freedom.”
“I think what he was referring to is the academic freedom for professors to do research and speak in terms of their expertise in the areas they study,” Leiloni McLaughlin, the university’s director of the Center for Community and Cultural Engagement, told Gillette when asked about Alvarez.
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The University of Utah campus seen from Rice-Eccles Stadium in Salt Lake City, Utah. (AP Photo/Rick Baumer, File)
“He kind of implied that they turned things over to the professor,” Gillette said, asking McLaughlin to explain that she thought that was a “false statement.”
McLaughlin was then asked by Gillette what Alvarez meant by “marketing” the change.
“I think with the legislative changes, every university has had to move,” McLaughlin said.
“Change their actions or change how they market what they’re doing,” Gillette responded.
“Both,” McLaughlin replied.
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People march outside the office of hedge fund billionaire Bill Ackman, protesting his campaign against diversity, equality and inclusion, and the attacks on former Harvard University president Claudine Gaye, in New York City, Jan. 4, 2024. (Reuters/Shannon Stapleton)
“I reject the assertion that the university is hiding its diversity work with rebranding and remarketing,” a University of Utah spokesperson told Fox News Digital in a statement.
“The changes required under HB 261 will affect how we support student success, recruit faculty, celebrate events and create a sense of belonging on our campuses.”
The spokesperson added that Alvarez is “not a spokesperson for the University of Utah.”
“His comments do not reflect the position of the organization,” the spokesperson added. “The comments of Leiloni McLaughlin, director of our Center for Cultural and Community Engagement … were more aligned with university leaders.”
Spokesperson too An interview pointed out She said Black Student Unions “were greatly mourning the loss of their center and identity-based resources” as a result of the new law.
The school has previously outlined Measures taken to comply with the law include closing identity-based resource centers, transferring DEI employees to other jobs on campus, and restricting diversity statements in hiring.
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“It’s not about one or two bad apples — it’s about a broken system,” Gillett told Fox News Digital about his video footage, shot in October 2024 and May of this year.
“Utah needs a Kansas-style DEI ban with a reporting mechanism and real legal consequences. And most importantly, America’s university system needs to fundamentally change its focus on education rather than activism.”
Republicans across the country, including President Donald Trump’s administration, have scored major victories pushing back DEI in favor of meritocracy standards, but experts warn that universities and institutions will resist the idea of ​​abandoning that practice and instead seek to rebrand it under different banners.
“At first, they just pushed back, DEI tried to defend itself, but when it became so clear that DEI was really anti-white, anti-Asian, sometimes anti-Jewish in hiring and promotion, they gave up,” said Will Hild, executive director of Consumer Research. told Fox News Digital Earlier this year. “Now they’re just trying to change terminology that’s toxic to their brand. So we’re seeing a lot of companies move away from DEI sections, for example, to ‘relevant sections’ or ‘inclusivity sections’.”
Hide added, “That’s exactly the same poisonous nonsense under the new wrapper, and they’re just hoping to increase the graft, because a lot of these people — I’d say most people — working at DEI are worthless.”
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