A memo from UNT’s compliance office alleges that an organization whose faculty members solicited conference funding to attend is in violation of the Texas Education Code’s anti-DEI provisions.
Michael Barera/Wikimedia Commons
The University of North Texas has paid for journalism professor Tracy Everbach and her colleagues to attend a conference every year since she started at the university in 2004.
Until this year.
In a June 30 memo to Everbach and at least five other journalism professors, university administrators said membership or sponsorship fees for the Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication, the organization that hosts the conference he plans to attend and launch next month, violate Texas law that prohibits diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives at public institutions.
The memo, from the University Integrity and Compliance Office, alleges that, among other things, the organization violated a provision of the Texas Education Code that prohibits “promoting differential treatment or providing special benefits to individuals based on race, color or national origin.”
Everbach said he does not understand the case. “It’s just a normal research conference,” he said.
Scheduled for early August in New Orleans, the AEJMC conference has a Jazz and Jambalaya theme, showcasing the “rich histories” and “diverse contributions” of community members, according to the organization’s website. The show says it will feature “thought-provoking programming, diverse voices and exciting opportunities to learn and connect.”
Everbach said he submitted an open request to the university on July 2 seeking all communications regarding the denial of funds, with the goal of better understanding why officials made this decision. He has yet to receive a response, although UNT has 10 business days to respond.
‘Dangerous Example’
Everbach, a tenured professor, worries about what the denial means for his colleagues in the administration. “The reason we went to the conference is to represent the university and present our research, which is required as part of our work,” he said.
He added that he believes the move restricts his academic freedom and pointed to the denial of conference funding as one of the “many things” that have happened because of the Texas laws.
SB 17, for example, which went into effect in January 2024 after Gov. Greg Abbott signed it into law, limits certain DEI activities to state agencies and requires universities to comply with reporting requirements. The University’s Office of Integrity and Compliance said AEJMC violated provisions of that law.
Everbach said the state’s growing involvement in elite programs led him to accept the buyout from UNT when they offered him in the spring. He is employed by the university until Aug. 31, making this his last time attending and presenting at the conference as a UNT faculty member. He is still willing to go, but he will pay for himself, he said.
During the conference, Everbach and her colleagues plan to present a student project called “Amplifying the Voices of the Muscogee Creek Nation,” which shows how students are learning to unite historically marginalized communities.
“I am concerned that the university is setting a precedent that will prevent people from being able to attend these conferences and present their research,” said Everbach. “They are very proud of their status as a research university, the faculty has earned it.”
UNT’s denial of funding comes after the institution introduced a new process for faculty to renew association memberships and apply for conference funding, Everbach said. When she went to her assistant dean at the end of March to renew her membership and register for the conference, she said they told her, “‘You have to fill out the compliance office form.’ Other colleagues were told the same thing, we all filled out these forms, but we didn’t hear anything,” he said.
The membership application form asks the principal to provide information, including previous membership held within the organization and what will happen if it is not renewed. The form indicates that only one employee is assigned to process membership applications.
After months of waiting, the university sent Everbach an email late last month saying UNT could not fund his membership application.
“While this process may prohibit UNT’s membership/funding of certain organizations, the university may continue to fund travel expenses for faculty and staff to attend conferences that support their professional roles, even if membership funding is disallowed,” the memo reads.
UNT said in a statement that it supports intellectual research and participation in conferences that advance its academic, research and service activities and comply with applicable federal and state laws. It said the university covers travel and registration expenses for teachers who attend conferences that support their professional roles.
“However, the university does not sponsor or reimburse individual memberships in organizations if doing so is inconsistent with state law,” the statement read. “The university does not prevent any employee from joining organizations independently.”
Officials did not respond to questions Within Higher Ed about what specific language from the organization violates provisions of the Texas Education Code, or respond to comments from teachers who say the denial of funding interferes with their academic freedom and interferes with their ability to present their research. UNT also did not answer why officials decided to deny membership and conference funding to the association this year, but approved funding in previous years after SB 17 took effect.
The university joins other institutions in cutting conference fees for professors due to pressure from DEI, including Ohio State University, which told faculty and students in October that they would not be able to use university funds to attend an upcoming conference hosted by the Association for the Advancement of Chicanos and Native Americans in Science.
