AUSTIN, Texas — University officials confirmed nearly 60 employees at the University of Texas at Austin have been laid off.
According to KVUE's media partners at the Austin American-Statesman, President Jay Hartzell confirmed at least 57 UT employees in DEI-related roles were laid off recently.
Since SB 17 went into effect, limiting DEI initiatives, UT has taken various steps to comply with the Texas law.
Earlier this year, UT students nearing graduation discovered cultural graduation ceremonies would not take place after the Multicultural Engagement Center closed its doors. UT introduced the Division of Campus and Community Engagement in its place, which was then closed in April when news of the layoffs came out.
The Statesman reports that Hartzell took prewritten questions during a meeting Monday, where he confirmed 49 employees in DEI-related positions were terminated. Another eight associate or assistant deans who worked with related duties were also returned to their full-time faculty positions. Eight more people in the Student Affairs Division were terminated, but the university said it was unrelated to the April 2 layoff announcements. Lastly, Hartzell said one person decided to retire instead of having their position eliminated.
Initial reports suggested at least 60 employees would be laid off. Previously, UT would not confirm how many people were let go, but the Texas Conference of the American Association of University Professors stated at least 62 employees were laid off. The group also noted that the number could double.
UT's layoffs came weeks after State Sen. Brandon Creighton sent a warning letter about the state's expectations for higher education institutions to comply with SB 17, which banned DEI initiatives at public universities in Texas.
According to the Associated Press, more than 100 job cuts have occurred across Texas universities so far.
