[Coehd] COEHD Diversity and Inclusiveness Committee (CD&I) and SB 17

Dear COEHD faculty, staff, and students, The college has been notified by legal counsel and the UTSA Office of Auditing that the COEHD Diversity and Inclusiveness Committee (CD&I) which is formally recognized in our COEHD bylaws violates the terms of Senate Bill 17 (see bylaws enclosed), thus it needs to be dissolved immediately to be in full compliance. Because this is an official committee governed by bylaws, it would ordinarily require a voting procedure for amendments and repeals. In this exceptional circumstance, we are obliged as a college to comply and eliminate this committee from our bylaws to avoid possible legal action. As a step forward, I indicated to members of the CD&I this past fall my support for visualizing a committee whose scope and purpose would be to advocate for the unique needs and interests of our community albeit within the parameters of the senate bill. Members of the CD&I committee agreed in view of the tight deadline of December 14th, 2023 that the current DEI committee should be eliminated but that we would explore other committee possibilities in the near future. The general sentiment among CD&I committee members was that a more prudent and methodical strategy in determining committee mission, aims, and desired outcomes was more advantageous given all the ambiguity and unknowns with the bill; e.g., the immediate effects of the bill in the classroom, forthcoming system guidance on SB 17's effect on grants and contracts, compliance to the multitude of national and federal regulations (e.g., SACSCOC), and that the committee building process should also include students and draw on data and input. I fully support this idea and look forward to a new iteration of the committee this coming academic year. I look forward to embarking on this work and designing a committee that reinforces our commitment to the unique interests and needs of our community and mission to transform lives. As always, I welcome your ideas and suggestions. This can be done and I look forward to contributions from all of you. I appreciate your understanding and cooperation. Mario Torres, Ph.D. Dean, College of Education and Human Development President's Distinguished Professorship The University of Texas at San Antonio One UTSA Circle, Main Building 3.304 San Antonio, TX 78249