Texas A&M University is inviting staffers and Ph.D. students to attend a Diversity Equity and Inclusion conference that limited participation to people who are Black, Hispanic and Native American, explicitly prohibiting Whites and Asians from attending.

In 2023, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott signed Senate Bill 17, banning diversity programs in public universities. The measure would require universities to close their diversity, equity, and inclusion offices, ban mandatory diversity training, and restrict hiring departments from asking for diversity statements.

But the university’s lawyers maintain it can legally circumvent the law.

The PhD Project’s Annual Conference is intended for individuals who “Identify as Black/African American, Latinx/Hispanic American, or Native American/Canadian Indigenous.”

According to its website, the organization hosting the conference states that its purpose is to increase diversity and equity in doctoral programs and uses findings from a not-yet-released study that claims the practice of racially gerrymandering student and faculty representation in programs is “not just ethical, it’s evidence-based.”

Conservative activist Christopher Rufo shared an email disseminated by the university showcasing its discriminatory policies.

“The university falsely claims that this use of taxpayer funds does not violate the state’s DEI ban,” Rufo wrote on X. “@TAMU is supporting racial segregation and breaking the law.”

Rufo also attached screenshots of the university emails showcasing that no whites would be allowed at its taxpayer-funded “diversity” conference.

“To be eligible for the annual conference, you must identify as Black/African American, Latinx/Hispanic American, or Native American/Canadian Indigenous,” Texas A&M wrote.

Rufo also posted a screenshot of an email sent by Michael Withers, Associate Dean for Research and Scholarship at Texas A&M The A&M confirming the university’s general counsel confirmed the conference complied with the Texas’ DEI ban.

“Additionally, I want to note that we have consulted with Texas A&M’s Office of General Counsel regarding May’s support of the PhD Project to ensure compliance with SB 17. Their guidance was as follows,” Withers states in the email. “Supporitng The PhD Project is permissible under recruiting exemptions in SB 17 as the projects outward focus means it is not considered an “outsourcing” of university DEI functions.

Referencing Senate Bill 17, the bill bars public colleges from diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) programs and practices.

DEI policies were created to support groups who have been historically underrepresented or discriminated against.

Response

A&M’s President Welsh issued a statement to faculty and staff at Mays Business School late Monday night.

“Texas A&M does not support any organization, conference, process or activity that excludes people based on race, creed, gender, age or any other discriminating factor. The intent of SB-17 is very clear in that regard. We will continue to honor both the letter and the intent of the law.”

Read President Welsh’s full message to Mays below.

Faculty and Staff at Mays Business School,

Earlier this evening I released the following statement on social media in response to criticism we received for approving folks to attend and present at a doctoral recruiting conference that limited attendees (potential doctoral students) by race and other factors:

“Texas A&M does not support any organization, conference, process or activity that excludes people based on race, creed, gender, age or any other discriminating factor. The intent of SB-17 is very clear in that regard. We will continue to honor both the letter and the intent of the law.”

While the proper process for reviewing and approving attendance at such events was followed, I don’t believe we fully considered the spirit of our state law in making the initial decision to participate. This particular conference’s limitations on the acceptable race of attendees is not in line with the intent of SB-17, and, as a result, we will not be sending anyone to participate in this conference. Texas A&M faculty and staff attend hundreds, if not thousands, of conferences and other events during the course of each academic year. We need to be sure that attendance at those events is aligned with the very clear guidance we’ve been given by our governing bodies.

Thank you for all you do.

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott is threatening to terminate Texas A&M University President Mark Welsh III, warning the university is violating the state’s ban on DEI programs.

Texas A&M University’s President Mark Welsh issued a statement on Monday night in response to claims the school system broke the State of Texas’ ban on DEI programs. A post on X about a conference gained the attention of Texas Governor Gregg Abbott, leading to him threatening Welsh’s job. KBTX obtained the president’s statement on Tuesday morning.

The statement reads in part, “While the proper process for reviewing and approving attendance at such events was followed, I don’t believe we fully considered the spirit of our state law in making the initial decision to participate.”

Abbot responded to a social media user asking whether he and Attorney General Ken Paxton would tolerate the behavior.

“Hell, no,” Abbott replied hours later on X. “It’s against Texas law and violates the U.S. Constitution. It will be fixed immediately or the president will sooner be gone.”

Hell, no.

It’s against Texas law and violates the US Constitution.

It will be fixed immediately or the president will soon be gone. https://t.co/g3VTUXWvLb

— Greg Abbott (@GregAbbott_TX) January 14, 2025

As recently as 2023, The University of Texas paid a staggering $9.8 million to fund the salaries of 116 DEI staff.

The school also hosted federally-funded studies on topics such as “cisheteronormativity, the societal belief that everyone is cisgender and heterosexual.”