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University of Texas, Austin

Undergraduate School

Mailing Address
The University of Texas at Austin Admissions Welcome Center at Perry-Castañeda Library (PCL) 101 East 21st St.
Austin, Texas 78712
Phone
(512) 471-3434
School Information
"The University of Texas at Austin, founded in 1883, ranks among the 40 best universities in the world. It supports some 51,000 diverse students with top national programs across 18 colleges and schools. And as Texas’ leading research university, UT attracts more than $650 million annually for discovery." The university is offering over 400 academic programs and employing over 3,100 faculty. (Source: https://www.utexas.edu/about) (Source: https://www.utexas.edu/about/facts-and-figures)
General Information
UT Austin has not yet launched university-wide initiatives in support of anti-racism. Its football team, the Texas Longhorns, has taken the step of wearing a statement against racism on their helmets. No mandatory Critical Race Training sessions are yet required of students. However, see developments below:

Actions Taken

Anti-Racism, Bias, and Diversity Training
  • The school's Division of Diversity and Community Engagement states that it would "Offer diversity and implicit bias professional development for staff at the director level and above and increase training sessions on staff recruitment and hiring."
  • UT Austin's Cockrell School of Engineering published its 2021-2022 Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Annual Report which states the following: "Train everyone involved in admissions and hiring about biases, including racism and sexism, and develop procedures that explicitly mitigate the disparate and negative impacts of these biases on hiring and admissions."
  • On February 21, 2022, UT Austin's McCombs School of Business published its Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Plan which states, "Train all persons involved in admissions, hiring, and career management about biases, and develop procedures that mitigate the negative impacts of potential biases on hiring and admissions."
Curriculum Changes and Requirements
  • The school's College of Fine Arts "Diversity Strategic Plan" states that "All departments have established internal working groups, intersecting with the Fine Arts Diversity Council, to review and establish guidelines and principles for diversity and inclusion within core academic curriculum and creative programming."
  • The school's College of Natural Sciences states that it is working to "acknowledge the inequitable history in our disciplines and on our campus, including through modules in our curriculum and clear statements of our diversity, equity and inclusion values and displays on campus that provide more context about historic injustices at UT and beyond."
Faculty/Staff Requirements
  • UT Austin's School of Information published its 2020-2021 Diversity and Inclusion Committee Report which describes the following "Committee Charge": "Mandatory training in anti-racist pedagogy and cultural competency for all TAs and faculty. The D&I committee will work with other units at UT to identify training resources and host iSchool training session(s) focusing on more inclusive classroom strategies."
Political Actions and Support for Anti-Racism
  • University proposes the implementation of political "litmus tests" for hiring, as well as promotions for diversity.
Resources
  • The Institute for Urban Policy Research and Analysis hosted a "COVID-19 Essential Workers and Black Women Series." One of the proposals during the series said, "Workplace establishments should explicitly account for the intersection of gender and race."
  • The school's College of Natural Sciences states that its "Priorities For The Future" include offering a "new Equity in STEM Signature Course beginning in the 23-24 academic year."
  • UT Austin has changed the name of its DEI office from "Office for Inclusion and Equity" to the "Center for Equity and Inclusion." The change in name was likely in response to Texas' new DEI law (June 2023) which "prohibits colleges from establishing or maintaining a diversity, equity, and inclusion ‘office'."
Symbolic Actions
  • Texas Longhorns football team will be wearing a statement against racism on their helmets.
  • The Department of History has announced the creation of its "Anti-Racism Action Committee".
  • The University Faculty Council approved a resolution on February 14, 2022 “defending the academic freedom of faculty members to teach about race, gender justice and critical race theory.”
  • On April 14, 2021, the University President approved the Strategic Plan for Faculty Diversity, Equity and Inclusivity to hire and promote a diverse faculty and to support diverse teaching over the next four years.
Last updated August 22nd, 2023
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