On July 10th, the Claremont Institute released the enclosed study, “Going Woke in Dixie?: Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) at the University of Alabama and Auburn University.” It finds both Alabama and Auburn have active diversity strategic plans meant to transform their respective cultures spending more than $2.5 million annually on diversity salaries and programs.
Alabama’s annual “Path Forward Diversity Report” focuses on faculty and staff recruitment with more than thirty personnel dedicated to DEI efforts. It schedules visits from black high schoolers though the “Our Bama” program. The Multicultural Visitation Program brings minorities to campus for special visits. Other initiatives like BRIDGE and “Lucy’s Legacy” are designed to retain minority students. DEI bureaucrats oversee the certification of sororities and fraternities as well as all other student clubs and groups. The Alabama Athletic Department has athletes learning about preferred pronouns and all things LGBTQ+. Making its way into curriculum, prior to Covid in 2019, UA bragged that one third of its undergraduate curriculum (36 percent, 1083 courses) was diversity related. The goal is that all courses will have diversity content by 2025/26. Auburn is on a similar trajectory.
At Auburn, there are 20 personnel dedicated to promoting DEI initiatives. All twelve of its colleges have dedicated directors of diversity or a representative on the Diversity Leaders Roundtable. As is the case in Alabama all faculty hiring, and tenure decisions are overseen by diversity personnel. Diversity development training modules examining “implicit bias is required for all faculty, staff and administrators.
While neither Alabama nor Auburn have adopted DEI plans as transformative as those at Texas A&M, the University of Tennessee, or the University of North Carolina, our two major public universities are on that trajectory. Alabama should follow Florida’s lead in taking steps to abolish DEI offices and dictate a general education core for all our state’s university students.
Earl Tilford, PhD
Director, Alabamians for Academic Excellence and Integrity
Tuscaloosa, AL
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