University of Texas System Regents are anticipated to approve the appointment of Dr. Melissa Taylor to a vice provost position at the system’s flagship campus in Austin. Taylor previously served as an “Assistant Dean for Strategy and Equity Initiatives” in 2023 before Texas banned diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives from public universities.
According to a report by Dr. Scott Yenor, senior director of state coalitions at the Claremont Institute, in the wake of Texas’ DEI ban, UT-Austin engaged in “strategic obfuscation” of DEI work, including the titles of former DEI administrators. The report highlights Taylor’s title change as an example.
The Office of the Provost manages day-to-day academic affairs. As such, approval of Taylor’s appointment to the position of “Senior Vice Provost for Strategic Initiatives and Partnerships” by the regents is required under a new state law.
This approval is currently part of the consent agenda for Thursday’s regents meeting. This item was added to the consent agenda by the Academic Affairs Committee, chaired by Regent Jodie Lee Jiles. Jiles stated during today’s meeting of the Academic Affairs Committee that he had reviewed all consent agenda items. Gov. Greg Abbott re-appointed Jiles to the board in 2025.
Consent agendas are intended to enable governmental bodies to quickly move through non-controversial items but are sometimes abused to hide controversial measures.
Taylor began her current position in January. Prior to that, she worked in several positions at the College of Natural Sciences.
A June 2023 social media post from the College of Natural Sciences lists Taylor’s position as “Assistant Dean for Strategy and Equity Initiatives.” This position does not appear on Taylor’s Linkedin profile.
Taylor’s 2016 PhD dissertation focuses on community college enrollment of post‑baccalaureate students and explicitly discusses “equity implications” of access to high‑value careers, indicating a longstanding interest in equity frameworks.
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In the post, Taylor discusses her “perspective” on LGBT “pride” month.
“Pride Month is a time for reflecting on how far we’ve come, validating the hardships still experienced by too many of us and reenergizing ourselves for the work that lies ahead,” Taylor said.
“Pride is also the opposite of shame, the refusal to keep pieces of ourselves hidden in the shadows,” she continued.
Later in the post, she stated, “Pride Month is about visibility and celebration and self-acceptance and, my personal favorite, radical joy.”
Radical joy has been described as “the intentional, rebellious act of cultivating deep happiness, gratitude, and awe, even—and especially—during times of pain, injustice, or despair.”
Author James Lindsay counters that “radical joy” is a “kind of religious ecstasy associated with believing they are going to accomplish Communism, or at least their revolution.”
Lindsay further ties “radical joy” to author Herbert Marcuse and the revolutionary desire to remove all forms of sexual restraint.
If regents approve Taylor’s appointment, she will report to Provost William Inboden. Inboden reports to President Jim Davis.
Davis reports to Chancellor John Zerwas and the Board of Regents.
UT-Austin is a component of the University of Texas System. The UT System is overseen by a Board of Regents that is appointed by the governor and confirmed by the Texas Senate. Kevin Eltife of Tyler is the current board chairman.
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