On Tuesday, April 2, 2024, the UT Austin Administration issued 90-day termination notices to 62 professional staff who once did DEI work but pivoted before January 1, 2024, to comply with SB 17. [Ref] Of the staff, 13 also hold faculty positions. Faculty members, academic advisors and other professional staff in a teaching or training role have academic freedom to be able to do their job effectively. Additionally, 15 Assistant and Associate Dean positions will be eliminated on May 31, 2024; the 14 faculty members in these roles will be demoted and take a significant cut in pay but retain their faculty positions. [Ref] Although the UT Austin Administration refuses to provide the number of employees who were fired, we provide a list of all the job titles and departments/units compiled directly from the 62 professional staff who received termination notices (see below). Most of the 62 professional staff are women and/or members of underrepresented minority groups.
The spokesperson for the 62 staff who received termination notices is Karma Chavez (karmachavez@gmail.com).
Documenting the termination notices and their impact
- Professor Peniel Joseph, Opinion: What’s happening in Texas is an assault on American democracy, CNN Opinion, May 2, 2024.
- Job Titles and Departments/Units for UT Austin Termination Notices on April 2, 2024, posted April 15, 2024
- UT Austin Spring 2024 Organizational Restructuring, describes transfers of programs formerly part of the Division of Campus and Community Engagement to other university colleges, schools, and units
- UT Austin Office of the Vice President for Student Affairs Termination Letter, April 2, 2024. Termination notices sent to 10 staff in the VPSA.
- UT Austin Division of Campus and Community Engagement (DCCE) Termination Letter, April 2, 2024. Termination notices sent to 43 staff in the DCCE.
- President Jay Hartzell, Organizational Changes, April 2, 2024. First public statement by the UT Austin on the employment terminations.
- UT Austin SB 17 Compliance Certification for the Division of Campus and Community Engagement, Jan. 8, 2024. Example of the university-wide audit and termination of all DEI positions and functions banned under SB17 prior to January 1, 2024. The document filename is dated December 13, 2023, and it is signed on January 8, 2024.
- Footage of Rep. John Kuempel, May 19, 2023. Rep. Kuempel, as House Higher Ed Committee Chair and SB 17 Sponsor, reassures lawmakers on the House floor that DEI workers in Texas would not lose their jobs. Rep. Kuempel mentions 62 employees in DEI roles at UT Austin.
Statements and other responses
- Open Letter: UT Faculty Have No Confidence in President Hartzell, April 25, 2024.
- Joint Statement of UT Austin Faculty Council and Staff Council Leadership Regarding Recent Staff Terminations (April 12, 2024)
- Statement of Gary Bledsoe, NAACP State President, April 10, 2024
- Texas AAUP and UT Austin AAUP respond to the UT Austin President purging more than 75 staff, April 8, 2024
- UT Austin AAUP Letter to the UT Austin President, Apr. 4, 2024.
- Joint Press Release by Texas AAUP & Texas NAACP, Apr. 3, 2024.
AAUP@UT 
4 responses to “Mass Firings of UT Austin Staff, Faculty, and Administrators”
[…] Mass Firings of UT Austin Staff and Administrators […]
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[…] For more information, please see “Mass Firings of UT Austin Staff, Faculty, and Administrators“. […]
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[…] Note: The following termination letter was without warning and came as a complete shock. The letter gives no reason for the termination nor acknowledges the work the staff member had done to comply with SB 17. The letter does not acknowledge that they had been promised that they would not lose their jobs. The staff member received no due process prior to the received the letter and the notice does not describe the options for due process for the staff member such as an appeal or grievance. There is no severance package. For more information, please see “Mass Firings of UT Austin Staff, Faculty, and Administrators“. […]
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[…] Note: The following termination letter was without warning and came as a complete shock. The letter gives no reason for the termination nor acknowledges the work the staff member had done to comply with SB 17. The letter does not acknowledge that they had been promised that they would not lose their jobs. The staff member received no due process prior to the received the letter and the notice does not describe the options for due process for the staff member such as an appeal or grievance. There is no severance package. There is no description of how to continue employment benefits after the determination date, for example extending the health insurance coverage using COBRA where the staff person pays the cost of the health insurance. For more information, please see “Mass Firings of UT Austin Staff, Faculty, and Administrators“. […]
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