University of Houston

On May 11-12th, 2022, the College of Liberal Arts and Social Sciences is hosted a workshop on theories and histories of racial capitalism.

On November 8, 2021, the university hosted a workshop on Race and Racism to “explore the concept of being anti-racist.”

The Moores School of Music at UH has implemented several antiracism initiatives, including "[t]raining for faculty and staff to address issues of diversity and inclusion."

As part of its antiracism initiatives, UH's Moores School of Music states that it is "committed to identifying inclusive pedagogy and academic curriculum."

On March 3, 2023, UH reported that it would "discontinue using diversity, equity and inclusion statements [as] factors in hiring and promoting employees." This decision came after Governor Abbot "told state agencies last month to stop considering diversity when hiring."

In 2020, student athletes led an anti-racism protest across campus while wearing Black Lives Matter t-shirts. One of the protest leaders stated, "'We’re here to promote the fact that our school, the University of Houston, will not tolerate any racism, hatred or bigotry of any kind'."

A new Anti-Racist Fellowship Program was created by an alum of University of Houston Graduate College of Social Work.

The Center for Student Empowerment at UH "provides opportunities for the university's diverse student population by preventing minor obstacles from becoming major setbacks to degree achievement." The center provides a variety of scholarship and mentoring programs to achieve its goals.

The Inclusive Leadership Institute (ILI) is a College-Level Center in the C. T. Bauer College of Business. The center's mission is to "connect inclusive leaders across academia, corporations, and non-profit organizations to accelerate inclusive leadership in companies and communities." The ILI's "Areas of Excellence" include "Inclusive Culture, #MeToo, Gender Equality, Women in Leadership, [and] Racial Justice."

The University of Houston Alumni Association provides specific scholarships for Asian, Black, and Hispanic students.

The Division of Research provided an "internal grant competition designed to address issues related to racism" in 2020. A total of $500,000 was available in the competition. The grants aimed to combat "systemic racism" which "is a powerful driver of inequities across all facets of our society and is often compounded at the intersection of other social categorizations, such as class and gender."

In October 2021, the University announced it was a part of the "National Consortium to Advance Health Equity and Researcher Diversity" which was accompanied by a $50 Million grant. The program will advance the "Artificial Intelligence/Machine Learning Consortium to Advance Health Equity and Researcher Diversity." It aims to eliminate "gender and racial biases" in artificial intelligence.

In 2023, the University of Houston Energy Transition Institute was awarded a $100,000 grant from The Baker Hughes Foundation to "support environmental justice research and workforce development programs." The institute states it "focuses on the creation and use of reliable, affordable, environmentally responsible energy for all through a just and equity-driven pathway."

In October 2024, NASA Awarded UH $1.2 Million to "Strengthen Diversity in STEM and Aerospace Engineering" and "address barriers to access and success for historically underserved and underrepresented students."

In October 2024, the Cullen College of Engineering received two grants totaling $3.1 Million from the National Science Foundation. The grants fund two initiatives that aim "to break down barriers that prevent low-income and underrepresented students from pursuing STEM education, helping to build a more diverse and supportive learning environment for everyone."

UH was awarded a total of $900,000 in grants to launch its "Guided Pathways to Success Equity Initiative." The grants included $300,000 from the Greater Texas Foundation, $200,000 each from the Houston Endowment and Trellis Foundation, and $100,000 each from The Kresge Foundation and The Powell Foundation. Through the initiative, "partners will survey student perceptions of campus climate, implement visionary action plans to drive change, and cultivate and strengthen relationships to advance more equitable outcomes at Houston GPS institutions and in the Gulf Coast region."

The George Floyd Memorial Lecture was presented on May 12, 2022 with Dr. Ruth Wilson Gilmore.

The Center for Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion at University of Houston previously hosted a number of programs, organizations, self learning resources, and services to promote racial equity and social justice.

UH's Health Profession Advising webpage provides resources for underrepresented minorities and states, "we recognize that many students face additional challenges as applicants due to race, ethnicity, sexual orientation, disability, or citizenship status."

UH Libraries provide a variety of arts and antiracism resources which include videos titled "Music Theory and White Supremacy" and "How to be an Antiracist" featuring author Ibram X. Kendi.

The University's Compliance Policy (01.D.18) – Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Initiatives outlines how UH will comply with federal and state laws. The policy does not apply to academic courses, activities of student organizations, guest speakers, or student recruitment or admissions.

The Division of Student Affairs released "SB 17 FAQs" which answers common questions about compliance with the state law. It states, "Each university of the System, including their respective offices, divisions, and units (academic and administrative) are responsible for ensuring that they achieve compliance with SB 17." The FAQs answer questions such as "May a professor use a DEI Statement in their course syllabus?" "May a university deny access to speakers brought in by student organizations because the speaker intends to conduct DEI programming?" and "May a university host university/college/department-wide events or programs that support diversity in a general way?" among many other questions.

In May 2023, the City Journal detailed the "radical DEI bureaucracy" of the University of Houston, which is a "taxpayer-supported school." The article reported that UH condemns the United States as a “white supremacy system," "castigates Christians for their 'religious privilege,' and hosts sexually explicit events such as 'Queer Sex After Dark' and 'Sex Ed Bingo: Chance to Win a Sex Toy.'" The article goes into detail on the extensive DEI and CRT measures that have been implemented by the University.

The School's Humana Integrated Health System Sciences Institute has a health equity in action page, which details its programs. It defines equity as "the absence of unfair, avoidable or remediable differences among groups of people, whether those groups are defined socially, economically, demographically, geographically or by other dimensions of inequality (e.g. sex, gender, ethnicity, disability, or sexual orientation)."

The university will be "Empowering a University-wide group of faculty, staff, students and alumni to assess the state of racism in the Houston community and what the University of Houston can do to combat it. The group will be charged with asking the right questions, facilitating meaningful dialogue and generating actionable ideas for us to be part of the solution to bring about change."

On July 6, 2021, the university released its Racial Equity and Social Justice Committee Progress Report which highlighted the progress over the past year as well as further recommendations and future steps toward racial justice and equity.

Due to Texas restrictions on the creation of Diversity Offices state-wide in public universities, the Division of Student Affairs states the following: "We understand you were looking for the Center for Diversity and Inclusion or the LGBTQ Resource Center. These two centers have been closed effective August 31, 2023."

The College of Education released a statement "In Support of Inclusion & Belonging." It states, "We believe diversity enriches our college because all people deserve access to a world-class education in a safe learning environment" and "In response to the current uncertain and evolving political environment, we stand with the members of our college community and partners from all backgrounds." It also commits to "graduate professionals who promote fairness, equity, inclusion and respect."