An Arkansas legislative committee explored Diversity, Equity and Inclusion initiatives on Monday.
Lawmakers on the Higher Education subcommittee of the Arkansas Legislative Council questioned state educational leaders about their DEI programs. This included admissions and DEI representatives from the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences, UA Little Rock, The University of Arkansas, and Arkansas State University.
Sen. Dan Sullivan, R-Jonesboro, led up the committee. He repeatedly talked about this year's Supreme Court ruling that effectively ended affirmative action in public colleges. In the case Students for Fair Admissions, Inc. V. President and Fellows of Harvard College, the high court ruled by a vote of 6-3 to eliminate race-based admissions in American public colleges.
Sullivan said there is already plenty of equality in the United States’ founding documents to warrant DEI programs unnecessary.
“You know our Constitution, which says that all people are created equal and endowed by their creator with certain unalienable rights,” he said. “That seems like it’s a pretty good DEI statement in of itself.”
Those words are found in the Declaration of Independence and not the U.S. Constitution, a fact later pointed out by Sen. Linda Chesterfield, D-Little Rock.
“Has any white student ever been turned down from the University of Arkansas at Medical Sciences in order to admit a Black person,” she asked.
“No ma’am,” responded Stephanie Gardner, Provost and Chief Strategy officer at UAMS. This same response was given by education officials throughout the day.
Sen. Jonathan Dismang, R-Beebe, was much warmer toward DEI programs. He said recruiting students from majority-minority areas only serves to benefit everyone in the state.
“A community cannot function and be highly successful if they do not have healthcare available to them,” he said, explaining his hopes people in majority-minority areas will return to their communities after medical school. “You have to recruit from those areas.”
Sen. Mark Johnson, R-Little Rock, said too much taxpayer money is going toward these programs.
“When I see 22 people at an institution involved in DEI,” he said, “one of them making over $300,000 a year, I keep thinking we need to be able to come up with some efficiencies.”
Johnson said it was a part of an overall problem of college being too expensive.
