Texas State University pauses diversity training after Trump executive order threatens federal funding – By Trinady Joslin (Texas Tribune) / Oct 15 2020
Trump’s executive order, signed on Sept. 22, requires federal contractors and agencies that receive federal grants to discontinue training that contains “any form of race or sex stereotyping” and other “divisive concepts,” which could include discussions of the existence of white supremacy.
Texas State University said this month that it is “pausing” its employee diversity training, as it scrambles to understand the impact of a recent executive order by President Donald Trump to ban some forms of anti-racism programming among federal grant recipients that he calls “divisive” and “anti-American.”
Employees were informed of the change in a Oct. 5 email from President Denise Trauth.
“Texas State University receives federal dollars in various capacities including to support pre-college students … college students via Pell [grants], and our faculty via scores of federal grants,” Trauth wrote, adding in an Oct. 9 email that students receive over $260 million in federal financial aid alone. “We do not want to jeopardize this critical financial support that so many in our community rely upon.”
Other major Texas universities like the University of Texas at Austin and Texas Tech are evaluating the order to ensure policies are compliant, but those schools have not yet suspended any training sessions. A University of Houston spokesperson said in an email that they have already reviewed their training and believe it’s compliant with the order.
Nationwide, the University of Iowa has also suspended training while reviewing the order, as well as some corporations that do business with the federal government.
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