For years, TCU boasted of its commitment to “diversity, equity and inclusion” on its About page, a central part of the website.
Mentions of the commitment on that prominent page have now disappeared. A Dec. 2 screenshot of the website, courtesy of the internet archive site Wayback Machine, shows a statement saying that TCU is committed to “building a university for all,” and noted that’s why DEI is a part of the core curriculum and a theme in TCU’s strategic plan.
Reports of the website changes have caused some TCU community members to wonder what lies ahead for diversity, equity and inclusion efforts at the Fort Worth university, a private Texas institution that is not subject to a 2023 state law banning certain DEI programs at public colleges and universities but which may not be shielded from similar federal orders.
Whether the university’s diversity and inclusion office, which still has an active presence on TCU’s website and campus, will see a transformative makeover in the weeks ahead remains to be seen.
In a February internal email to an unidentified university leadership group, TCU President Daniel Pullin wrote that officials held “a lot of extra meetings and sessions” to gather ideas regarding diversity and inclusion work. A TCU spokesperson shared Pullin’s email with the Report on Feb. 8 in response to questions around possible changes or rebranding of DEI efforts on campus.
“One thing has become clear: Our community is stronger than a single program or a single office or even a single person, and our values compel us to understand that every single person is unique, important, and should be treated with respect and dignity,” Pullin wrote.
There was no mention of DEI in the president’s email or any specific mention about what was discussed at the “extra meetings and sessions.” Pullin’s email did reference the contributions of two staff members who work in the TCU Office of Diversity & Inclusion.
The university declined to respond to specific questions about the future of its diversity efforts, including whether such efforts will remain a core part of its strategic plan, any rebranding efforts related to DEI or the university’s commitment to diversity efforts going forward. University leadership has not commented publicly on the issue.
The “extra meetings and sessions” Pullin referenced in his email took place weeks after President Donald Trump issued a string of executive orders, including one ending “illegal” diversity, equity and inclusion programs at institutions that receive federal funds. Most universities accept federal funds for several programs, including financial aid and research.
Trump’s order is broad, and federal officials who are directed to create guidance for colleges and universities have yet to be confirmed by the U.S. Senate. The order is also being challenged in court. Trump called DEI programs “absolute nonsense,” and said such policies “deny, discredit and undermine the traditional American values of hard work, excellence and individual achievement in favor of an unlawful, corrosive and pernicious identity-based spoils system.”
Also included in the language of Trump’s directive is that the U.S. Department of Education shall identify up to nine colleges or universities with endowments over $1 billion for potential civil compliance investigations. With a $2.7 billion endowment, TCU fits the bill as a university that could be investigated.
Southern Methodist University, TCU’s football rival to the east, sports a $2 billion endowment — and has already made changes to its own diversity office. A Facebook page for SMU’s Office of Diversity & Inclusion changed its branding to the Office of Cultural Intelligence on Jan. 29, just days after Trump signed his executive order. Mentions of diversity and inclusion have been removed from SMU’s former webpage for its diversity office, which now directs to the cultural intelligence office.
“The issues with these types of laws and executive orders is that they create what we call ‘chilling effects.’ People and institutions become wary of violating the law in ways that lead to over compliance,” said Antonio Ingram, senior counsel with the NAACP Legal Defense Fund.
Ingram has been following state measures banning DEI programs over recent years, including SB 17, the Texas law that was passed last legislative session effectively banning diversity offices and programs at public colleges in Texas. Private colleges in the state were excluded. Ingram notes that once the bill went into effect, private Rice University stepped in to fill the void.
“When the University of Houston closed down their (LGBTQ) Resource Center, pursuant in their minds to comply with SB 17, Rice University actually offered to allow University of Houston system students to use their Queer Resource Center on their private school campus,” Ingram said.
Ingram said he’s seen private universities be “bulwarks” against legal measures that limit what public institutions can do. At least in this instance, TCU is taking preemptive measures to comply in uncertain terrain.
Some have applauded the measures to restrict diversity and inclusion efforts, including Chris Putnam, CEO of the conservative news website The Dallas Express and a former congressional candidate who graduated from TCU.
Three of Putnam’s children have also attended the university. In his view, the values of university leadership have run counter to most of TCU’s student body, which he would describe as mostly — not all — socially conservative.
“I think it’s clear at this point that the vast majority of Americans have rejected DEI wokeness and this notion of equity over equality,” said Putnam, whose website has published articles critical of TCU’s diversity policies. “As it relates to higher education, it should be the bastion of meritocracy.”
Professor says equity work has ‘only just begun’
For faculty and students, what has happened and the unknown future of TCU diversity and inclusion efforts creates a point of confusion. What once was lauded as a “key to the university’s mission of creating global citizens” and as one of three themes central to the “university’s strategic priorities” now stands alone on its own webpage, with no direct links or explicit mention of its place in TCU’s strategic plan.
Frederick Gooding Jr., an associate professor of African American Studies at TCU and the inaugural chair of TCU’s Race & Reconciliation Initiative, said he has not been privy to any internal conversations now happening around TCU’s DEI efforts. But, he said, changing and rearranging the website makes it seem as if TCU is following in the steps of other places that have scaled back diversity initiatives, including Budweiser, Walmart and the NFL.
“This is a missed opportunity to ‘Lead On’ because they’re a private institution and they may not be restricted by what many other public institutions are right now,” Gooding said, referencing the university’s slogan for its fundraising campaign. “I think it’s an absolutely awesome opportunity to lean into your values right now.”
In 2020, TCU announced its Race & Reconciliation Initiative weeks after the murder of George Floyd — a Black man in Minneapolis killed by a white police officer — sparked a national racial reckoning. Since then, TCU has published research on the school’s ties to slavery, racism and the Confederacy, commissioned portraits of Black Americans who contributed significantly to the university and explored new ways to support Native Americans on campus.
“At that time, I mean, no one could erect the DEI framework fast enough, right? It was hot, it was trendy,” Gooding said. “In less than five years — and less than half a decade — (there’s the) idea that, ‘Oh, maybe we’ve gone too far.’ Look, if anything, we’ve only just begun.”
While there’s no singular definition of DEI, proponents of the efforts say the policies create more inclusive environments for underrepresented groups who have faced institutional discrimination. Critics, on the other hand, say DEI programs are discriminatory and disadvantage other groups, particularly white Americans.
In Putnam’s view, DEI policies do not create a level playing field in corporate America or in colleges where the best people for the job — and the best students — are given opportunities.
“They’re a little late to the game,” Putnam said of TCU’s possible reconsideration of its DEI efforts. “I think we tried it, and it didn’t work. People didn’t buy it. They didn’t buy the narrative.”
‘There’s a lot of ambivalence’ on DEI changes
For Eric Licea Tapia, a junior computer science major and a recipient of the prestigious Chancellor’s Scholarship, TCU’s previous emphasis on DEI was a deciding factor on why he came to the university. In the past academic year, he’s seen less of an emphasis on these programs. The de-emphasis on DEI programs is a concern for him and others in certain circles, he said, but he’s not sure if the larger TCU community shares that concern.
“There’s a lot of ambivalence. I wouldn’t say it’s a top concern here on campus,” said Licea Tapia, who serves as president of TCU’s chapter of Lambda Theta Phi Latin Fraternity. The Latino fraternity has had a presence on campus since 2001. “There isn’t a huge community that would be directly impacted.”
At TCU among its full-time faculty, 6% are Black, 7% are Latino and 8% are Asian, while 70.4% are white, according to 2024 data posted on TCU’s website. For undergraduates, the numbers shake out differently. The demographic data for its undergraduate students in fall 2024 is 2.5% Asian, 3.8% Black, 19% Latino and 62% white.
Licea Tapia said members of his fraternity wonder if changes will affect existing scholarships for underrepresented groups and that a couple of students have been open about their concern on social media. Mostly, he said, “Everyone else has kind of been keeping to themselves about it.”
For Licea Tapia and others concerned about the issue, it’s more of a wait and see. One staff member in the diversity and inclusion office who declined to be named said they’re working through the impact and implications of executive orders, and noted communication from TCU should come out soon. Pullin signaled in his Feb. 8 email that campus leaders are working on a path forward.
“I’ve included Aisha Torrey-Sawyer on this note, who came to us with a thoughtful proposal to serve our community, and who is now giving consequential energy to how we engage people along the way,” wrote Pullin. Torrey-Sawyer is TCU’s director of diversity and inclusion initiatives.
A university spokesperson did not respond to questions about Torrey-Sawyer’s proposal.
Community members seek clarity on path forward
Some faculty members have raised concerns about a lack of campuswide communication about what comes next for diversity and equity efforts at TCU.
“I get it that these are unusual times,” said Jacqueline Lambiase, a professor emeritus in strategic communication who has been at TCU since 2009. “I think the best kind of work done in the areas of diversity, equity and inclusion, and fairness and belonging — and all of those other values — that’s best done transparently. That’s best done in an ethical, forthright manner.”
Lambiase, a recently retired faculty member who previously worked on the Race & Reconciliation Initiative, would like a larger conversation within the TCU community before there are “any more steps backwards.” She has deep roots at the university. Her father graduated from TCU in 1955, when it was a segregated campus and Black students were prohibited from being on the school’s main campus.
She said that it was only in the 1960s, when the federal government threatened to pull money away from the institution, that TCU allowed Black students to attend. The work that TCU has been doing in recent years has provided a fuller picture of the university, exposing both the good parts and the uglier parts of its history, she said.
These efforts don’t diminish the institution, Lambiase said, and DEI initiatives on the campus have made the campus a more inclusive environment for all.
“What we see in the history of TCU is that it’s been a day late and a dollar short across its history. That’s the history of the institution,” said Lambiase. “Why would we turn back now and simply become what we were?”
Editor’s Note: The story was updated 8:30 p.m. Feb. 12 to include Eric Licea Tapia’s full name.
Shomial Ahmad is a higher education reporter for the Fort Worth Report, in partnership with Open Campus. Contact her at shomial.ahmad@fortworthreport.org.
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