Two Steps Forward, One Step Back: Dismantling DEI in Tennessee
Aug 29, 2025 by FACT
Is DEI dead, or is it simply in disguise?
On May 9, Governor Bill Lee signed the “Dismantling DEI Departments Act” into law after it was passed along party lines in the 2025 legislative session. The bill was aimed at aligning Tennessee with President Trump’s national agenda to prioritize merit and excellence in academics rather than “Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion.”
The bill states:
One of President Trump’s first acts in office was signing an executive order banning DEI in education and other sectors. The order notes that DEI “not only violate[s] the text and spirit of our longstanding Federal civil-rights laws, they also undermine our national unity, as they 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.”
Following Trump’s order, the US Department of Education warned schools that any violation of civil rights law, which includes the use of DEI programs, would result in a loss of federal funding. The Department also notified federally funded schools and universities that they must "cease using race preferences and stereotypes as a factor in their admissions, hiring, promotion, [and] scholarship."
Tennessee’s law works hand in hand with these federal mandates, but it goes a step further in ensuring DEI has no place in any publicly funded school. It’s worth noting that Trump’s executive orders can be overturned by any future president, whereas Tennessee’s law is a more permanent solution to the DEI problem.
“Diversity is a good thing, but diversity for diversity’s sake alone is not a good thing,” Senate Majority Leader Jack Johnson explained after the bill's passage.
Progress is already taking place. On August 22, the University of Memphis announced it would immediately shut down its Office of Multicultural Affairs in compliance with state and federal law.
The University released the following statement:
Unfortunately, not all Tennessee universities are taking the high road.
Last month, the University of Tennessee, Knoxville (UTK), was caught on video hiding its DEI office by rebranding it to “Access and Engagement.” Watch the Daily Wire’s undercover video here.
In the video, Professor Casey A. Barrio Minton was filmed saying that the University’s “Access and Engagement” office, which was formerly the DEI office, was not “a whole lot different.”
Another UTK employee admitted something similar. Will Eakin, who serves as a coordinator for Access and Engagement, was recorded saying the office plays a “chess game” to ensure they can use DEI programming while abiding by state and federal law.
"We had to take our current programming and our future programming and make sure that it aligns so that we can do the work that we're trying to do, while also catering to the Department of Education," Eakin explained. "The biggest thing is using language as a tool for protection."
Belmont University and Vanderbilt University have been caught in similar controversies over the past two months. Senator Marsha Blackburn sent letters to each of the universities demanding compliance with state and federal law.
“Renaming woke DEI programs to circumvent compliance and public scrutiny degrades the educational experience of your students and the trust placed in institutions of higher education,” the letters read. “As a beneficiary of federal funding, [the University] has a responsibility to align with the President’s executive order and return to a focus on providing quality education to your students.”
DEI has no place in education – it is a doctrine rooted in racism and ignorance. We agree with President Trump: “Hardworking Americans who deserve a shot at the American Dream should not be stigmatized, demeaned, or shut out of opportunities because of their race or sex.”
On May 9, Governor Bill Lee signed the “Dismantling DEI Departments Act” into law after it was passed along party lines in the 2025 legislative session. The bill was aimed at aligning Tennessee with President Trump’s national agenda to prioritize merit and excellence in academics rather than “Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion.”
The bill states:
A department, agency, or other unit of state government shall not maintain or authorize an office or department that promotes or requires discriminatory preferences in an effort to increase diversity, equity, or inclusion. All mandates, policies, programs, activities, guidance, regulations, enforcement actions, consent orders, or other declarations by such office or department are void.
One of President Trump’s first acts in office was signing an executive order banning DEI in education and other sectors. The order notes that DEI “not only violate[s] the text and spirit of our longstanding Federal civil-rights laws, they also undermine our national unity, as they 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.”
Following Trump’s order, the US Department of Education warned schools that any violation of civil rights law, which includes the use of DEI programs, would result in a loss of federal funding. The Department also notified federally funded schools and universities that they must "cease using race preferences and stereotypes as a factor in their admissions, hiring, promotion, [and] scholarship."
Tennessee’s law works hand in hand with these federal mandates, but it goes a step further in ensuring DEI has no place in any publicly funded school. It’s worth noting that Trump’s executive orders can be overturned by any future president, whereas Tennessee’s law is a more permanent solution to the DEI problem.
“Diversity is a good thing, but diversity for diversity’s sake alone is not a good thing,” Senate Majority Leader Jack Johnson explained after the bill's passage.
Progress is already taking place. On August 22, the University of Memphis announced it would immediately shut down its Office of Multicultural Affairs in compliance with state and federal law.
The University released the following statement:
Public Chapter 458, known as the “Dismantling DEI Departments Act,” is now law in Tennessee. This state law and recent executive orders prohibit public institutions of higher education, like the University of Memphis, from maintaining, authorizing or supporting programs that promote diversity, equity and inclusion. As a result, the Office of Multicultural Affairs has been closed.
While the University of Memphis does not operate in a way that discriminates against students, faculty, staff or our overall community, the parameters of the Tennessee law require us to reevaluate our operations to ensure that we remain in compliance with how we support students, nonacademic programs and some academic support programs.
Our commitment remains unchanged — to provide a successful outcome for every student.
While the University of Memphis does not operate in a way that discriminates against students, faculty, staff or our overall community, the parameters of the Tennessee law require us to reevaluate our operations to ensure that we remain in compliance with how we support students, nonacademic programs and some academic support programs.
Our commitment remains unchanged — to provide a successful outcome for every student.
Unfortunately, not all Tennessee universities are taking the high road.
Last month, the University of Tennessee, Knoxville (UTK), was caught on video hiding its DEI office by rebranding it to “Access and Engagement.” Watch the Daily Wire’s undercover video here.
In the video, Professor Casey A. Barrio Minton was filmed saying that the University’s “Access and Engagement” office, which was formerly the DEI office, was not “a whole lot different.”
Interviewer: “They practice DEI?”
Barrio Minton: “They do. And they do many of the same things. I haven’t noticed a big shift in the programming. I haven’t noticed a big shift of climate on campus beyond trying to ride the waves.”
Barrio Minton: “They do. And they do many of the same things. I haven’t noticed a big shift in the programming. I haven’t noticed a big shift of climate on campus beyond trying to ride the waves.”
Another UTK employee admitted something similar. Will Eakin, who serves as a coordinator for Access and Engagement, was recorded saying the office plays a “chess game” to ensure they can use DEI programming while abiding by state and federal law.
"We had to take our current programming and our future programming and make sure that it aligns so that we can do the work that we're trying to do, while also catering to the Department of Education," Eakin explained. "The biggest thing is using language as a tool for protection."
Belmont University and Vanderbilt University have been caught in similar controversies over the past two months. Senator Marsha Blackburn sent letters to each of the universities demanding compliance with state and federal law.
“Renaming woke DEI programs to circumvent compliance and public scrutiny degrades the educational experience of your students and the trust placed in institutions of higher education,” the letters read. “As a beneficiary of federal funding, [the University] has a responsibility to align with the President’s executive order and return to a focus on providing quality education to your students.”
DEI has no place in education – it is a doctrine rooted in racism and ignorance. We agree with President Trump: “Hardworking Americans who deserve a shot at the American Dream should not be stigmatized, demeaned, or shut out of opportunities because of their race or sex.”
