Khator: UH System 'will not support or use DEI statements or factors in hiring or promotion'

The University of Houston (UH) has joined several other public universities across the State of Texas in not considering diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) statements in its hiring process, according to a report from Houston FOX affiliate KRIV. 

University president Dr. Renu Khator sent a campuswide email announcing the decision on Friday, which adheres to Gov. Greg Abbott’s directive that all state entities eschew DEI when screening prospective employees, KRIV reported.

"In order to ensure compliance with state and federal law, we will not support or use DEI statements or factors in hiring or promotion anywhere in the University of Houston System," Khator, who also serves as the chancellor of the four-institution UH System, wrote in the message. “[The system] embraces diversity and understands and believes that it is our responsibility to foster an open, welcoming environment where students, faculty and staff of all backgrounds can collaboratively learn, work and serve.”

Per Fox News, the governor’s chief of staff, Gardner Pate, issued a memo last month in which he asserted that DEI policies “expressly favor some demographic groups” at the expense of others, stating they do opposite of what intended to achieve. 

“Rather than increasing diversity in the workplace, these DEI initiatives are having the opposite effect and are being advanced in ways that proactively encourage discrimination in the workplace,” Pate said in the memo. "Illegally adding DEI requirements as a screening tool in hiring practices or using DEI as a condition of employment leads to the exclusion and alienation of individuals from the workplace."

According to Houston National Public Radio (NPR) affiliate Houston Public Media (HPM) – which has studios at UH – Khator said the school will continue to “ensure our policies” are aligned “with state and federal laws.” 

“We stand against any actions or activities which promote discrimination in the guise of diversity, equity and inclusion,” she said. 

KRIV reported that Texas A&M University (TAMU) also scrapped DEI while the University of Texas (UT) paused its diversity programs.