Lt. Gov. Ron Ramsey wants action after UT holiday post
One of the state's leading lawmakers wants someone at the University of Tennessee to lose their job over a Web post that encouraged employees to "ensure your holiday party is not a Christmas party in disguise."
In a Facebook post Friday morning, Lt. Gov. Ron Ramsey said if UT-Knoxville Chancellor Jimmy Cheek approved the post, he should resign. If not, Ramsey said, "the entire staff of the Office for Diversity and Inclusion should be dismissed."
"Political correctness has been a scourge on American academia for too long," wrote Ramsey, R-Blountville. "If liberal arts universities in New York and Massachusetts wish to continue the practice that is up to them, but it has no place at institutions of higher learning in Tennessee."
The post, from the university's Office of Diversity and Inclusion, gave tips on how to avoid endorsing a specific religion or culture during a holiday party, including the recommendation not to participate in "Secret Santa" or "Dreidel." State and federal lawmakers, all Republican, have been quick to ridicule the post and tie it with other controversial statements that have come from UT.
In a statement released Friday afternoon, Joe DiPietro — the UT system president who oversees campuses in Knoxville, Memphis, Martin and Chattanooga — said he respected the concerns of Ramsey and other Tennessee and federal lawmakers. He also praised Cheek, whom he credited with a series of “remarkable, transformative successes" at the Knoxville campus.
DiPietro said he was working with the UT Board of Trustees, faculty, staff and students to develop a strategy to address legislators' concerns.
"I am carefully considering any decision with the potential to impact the stability and momentum of our state’s flagship institution," DiPietro said. “I am actively engaged in discussions with our Board vice chair and other UT leaders and stakeholders in determining very decisive short- and long-term solutions to the issues before us."
In a prepared statement released Thursday, Cheek said UT honors Christmas "as one of the celebrations of the season."
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"We are in no way trying to dismiss this very important Christian holiday," Cheek said. "As a diverse campus, we do promote ways to be inclusive of all cultures and religions. I am disappointed that our efforts to be inclusive have been totally misconstrued."
Cheek's statement did little to quell the outrage. Senate Education Committee Chairwoman Dolores Gresham, R-Somerville, and Senate Government Operations Committee Chairman Mike Bell, R-Riceville, called for Cheek's resignation on Thursday, and Rep. Sheila Butt, R-Columbia, said voters should urge lawmakers to cut UT's diversity funding during the upcoming legislative session, which starts in January.
Ramsey echoed Butt's comment, suggesting the General Assembly should punish the university for its "political correctness" by siphoning away state funding.
"If the University of Tennessee cannot keep its house in order the General Assembly must shift funding to the University of Memphis, ETSU or other institutions of higher learning that don't embarrass us nationally on a regular basis," Ramsey said.
Even U.S. Sen. Lamar Alexander of Tennessee added his thoughts Friday, saying in an email that UT's diversity staffers should visit White House and Capitol Christmas tree lightings "so they can see how truly American it is to celebrate Christmas."
Comments from Gov. Bill Haslam fell somewhere in between the legislative outrage and responses from UT officials. Although Haslam never directly answered whether he thought Cheek should resign, he did question the necessity of the post.
"I think adults should know what to wear to a holiday party and what they can sign and do, etc. I just feel like, maybe the office of diversity up there is kinda wandering in to some areas they don’t need to do…" Haslam told reporters Friday afternoon.
"Should we address things like this where I feel like people wander off of their mission? We should. But again, if you look I think Jimmy has produced some really good results at UTK."
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This is not the first time a Web post from the Office for Diversity and Inclusion has drawn lawmakers' ire in recent months.
A post added by the office in August encouraged students and professors to use gender-neutral pronouns when people requested them. That post was removed from UT's website after widespread criticism from Republicans in the General Assembly.
A panel of state lawmakers met in October to question the amount of money spent on diversity programming at the university. During that occasionally tense hearing, multiple legislators called for the university to re-evaluate or cut its diversity spending.
The UT system — which includes campuses in Knoxville, Chattanooga, Martin and Memphis — pumps $5.5 million annually into diversity programming. That makes up about 0.25 percent of the system's total budget of $2.1 billion.