The Faculty Senate voted Tuesday to remove its DEI committee and language referencing DEI from its bylaws, introducing the new Committee of Opportunities, Intercultural Connections and Success to replace it.
Matthew Hudnall, president of the Senate, said the change, which mirrors a similar one by the University, was made to ensure compliance with SB-129.
Several faculty members raised concerns about the language describing the Committee of Opportunities, Intercultural Connections and Success’ duties, including if the new committee would continue to reflect the values it previously represented.
“‘Equity’ is a general term,” said Nirmala Erevelles, professor and program chair of social and cultural studies in education, arguing against the word’s removal from the Senate bylaws. “I’m just pushing back on the idea that we’re falling all over ourselves to find synonyms when there are some ideals that we can stand for.”
However, the change in language seems to be largely administrative. Hudnall, referencing his experience revising the language of the College of Business’s former DEI Committee to comply with SB 129, said he “used a lot of synonyms” to avoid the buzzwords of “diversity,” “equity” and “inclusion.”
The Senate also hosted representatives from Tuscaloosa City Schools to advocate for a raise in property taxes in Tuscaloosa County to fund education. Specifically, the vote regards a 11.5 mill increase to the ad valorem tax rate.
“We’ve got a $6 million deficit planned for next year,” Jay Duke, chief financial officer of Tuscaloosa City Schools, told faculty members. “We can survive that about one more year.”
Superintendent of Tuscaloosa City Schools Mike Daria said the tax, which hasn’t been raised since 1986, would make Tuscaloosa City Schools more competitive with other districts and enable the district to continue funding academic and extracurricular programs.
Tuscaloosa will vote on the tax Sept. 24, and Daria asked faculty to stay informed on the issue and help spread the word about the vote throughout the community.
