The University of North Texas has refused to reimburse employee memberships in a second organization found to violate a state law that prohibits diversity, equity, and inclusion content in university human resource policies.
At issue is the National Women’s Studies Association (NWSA), which claims “to demonstrate the contributions of feminist scholarship that is comparative, global, intersectional and interdisciplinary.”
According to an internal UNT memo obtained via open records request, on June 30 UNT’s University Integrity and Compliance office informed Professor Rebecca Bearden, program coordinator for the Women’s and Gender Studies program, that “university-funded membership/sponsorship violates provisions (a)(2), (a)(3), (a)(4), (b)(1)(B), and (b)(1)(D) of Texas Education Code §51.3525.”
Due to these conclusions, the letter states that UNT is “unable to fund the membership/sponsorship request you submitted for the NWSA.” [Emphasis in original.]
This is the second time in recent months that UNT has determined that the university cannot reimburse membership dues for organizations promoting content that violates state law.
As originally reported in July, UNT refused to reimburse membership dues in the Association of Education in Journalism and Mass Communication (AEJMC), a trade association for left-wing journalism professors. Follow-up reporting suggested that Texas taxpayers might have subsidized this group to the tune of six figures.
The University of North Texas is a component of the University of North Texas System. The UNT System is overseen by a Board of Regents appointed by the governor and confirmed by the Texas Senate. Carlos Munguia of University Park is the current board chairman.
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