Months of investigation have revealed much work remains to reform Texas’ universities.
Over the past few years, rejecting the diversity, equity, and inclusion ideology has gained momentum nationwide and in Texas.
In 2023, Gov. Greg Abbott signed Senate Bill 17, a statewide ban on DEI in higher education, into law. The law prohibits universities from establishing a DEI office, using DEI criteria in their hiring practices, or requiring employees or prospective employees to attend DEI training. However, it does not apply to academic instruction.
Texas Scorecard spent 2024 examining the state’s higher education institutions and found multiple universities advancing the DEI and LGBT agendas. Additional issues, such as exposure to national security threats and problems with faculty and staff, were also uncovered.
DEI and LGBT
The DEI and LGBT ideologies are alive and well in Texas universities. Some actions have been taken to curb them, but they are still infecting students.
Scott Yenor of the Claremont Institute found that Texas Tech, the University of Houston, the University of North Texas, Texas A&M, and the University of Texas all have DEI baked into their strategic plans.
Additionally, asset managers for Texas A&M and the University of Texas investment firm, UTIMCO, cast proxy votes to advance DEI in companies where UTIMCO had investments.
DEI was also found in classes. This fall, Texas A&M offered four DEI-based classes required for all education majors looking to earn a teacher certification. Texas Tech’s business college also offered a “Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion in Organizations” class this spring, while its agricultural college had a “Leadership and Diversity in Organizations and Communities” class.
As for LGBT, the University of Texas at Austin held an “Introduction to LGBT Studies” course this fall. A science project housed on Texas Tech’s campus hosted a “queering agriculture” seminar last spring.
But there was good news.
After learning about the seminar, Texas Tech said it wants to follow “not only the letter, but also the spirit” of Texas’ DEI ban and promised greater oversight to make sure it doesn’t happen again. The University of Texas System recently announced it is requiring regular training for all staff to ensure compliance with the law. This was after an internal review found roughly 13,000 uses of “DEI-related terms” on university websites. In November, the Texas A&M System Board of Regents voted to end the school’s “LGBTQ minor” as well as other “low-performing programs.” And UTIMCO stated they were changing course on proxy votes.
National Security Threats
Universities are targets for hostile powers. Work has begun to secure them, but more work remains.
Questions were raised about Texas A&M’s relationship with terrorist-supporting Qatar and the university’s Qatar campus. In January 2024, a report found that TAMU’s partnership with Qatar threatened national security. Later, researchers raised more security questions regarding TAMU’s relationship with the nation.
The University of Texas exposed itself, too. In October, Texas A&M and the University of Texas investment firm, UTIMCO, were found to have bought shares in more than 50 Chinese companies. Then, in September, records showed that Texas A&M allowed China to infiltrate its Engineering Experiment Station. This station works on multiple high-profile projects, including some dealing with national security.
Both TAMU and UT are U.S. defense contractors. The U.S. director of national intelligence identified China, run by the Chinese Communist Party, as a national security threat.
Yet some actions are being taken to secure Texas’ institutions. In February, following the Qatar reports, the Texas A&M System’s Board of Regents voted 7-1 to close the Qatar campus, which is set to be completed in four years.
The UTIMCO revelation stirred Gov. Greg Abbott. He ordered UTIMCO and all other state entities to halt new investments in China and divest from existing holdings linked to the CCP. In another order, he prohibited university faculty and staff from participating in foreign recruitment programs sponsored by foreign adversary nations.
While these developments are promising, universities remain a target. The U.S. House Foreign Affairs Committee reported in February 2020 that the CCP had recruited “thousands of Chinese researchers and scientists” to acquire “cutting-edge technology” in our universities. Ongoing efforts will be required to protect our institutions.
Problem Faculty and Staff
There is an infestation of staff and faculty in universities that hate Texans’ values.
Across the nation, multiple faculty members at universities expressed antisemitic remarks. This showed up at Texas Tech, where Professor Jairo Funez-Flores publicly expressed such views.
At Texas A&M, faculty and staff have revealed their support for woke ideology. In May, one of their administrators lamented that the Biden-Harris administration’s widely criticized Title IX rewrite failed to include transgender competition in athletics. Members of Texas A&M’s faculty senate, a body that represents the university’s professors, were defiant after the board of regents ended the university’s “LGBTQ minor.”
Faculty members claimed regents violated “shared governance.” This refers to a policy in which those charged with overseeing the state’s universities—the boards of regents—share power with employed faculty. Regents are appointed by the governor and confirmed by the state senate. University faculty have no such clear lines of accountability to voters. In a December interview, State Sen. Brandon Creighton (R–Conroe) said lawmakers will examine university governance during the 2025 legislative session.
In 2024, there were positive actions. Texas Tech suspended Flores, and Texas A&M suspended its administrator. TAMUS’ board of regents resisted “shared governance” when it ended the “LGBTQ minor” and other “low-performing” programs.
But problems persist. “Shared governance” still exists in the state’s universities, which have unaccountable woke faculty. These taxpayer-funded institutions are still pushing DEI and LGBT ideologies. Exposure to national security threats remains.
While state lawmakers will consider further actions in the 2025 legislative session, the real question is what actions the boards of regents at state universities will take. They are accountable for how these universities are run, and the power for change lies with them.
