The University of Utah’s newly created “Viewpoint Representation and Expression Task Force” has undergone efforts to increase intellectual diversity on campus.
The Utah Daily Chronicle has reported that university officials have confirmed that the task force is in the process of evaluating school policies and other factors to boost diversity of thought and free expression.
“Our committee is reviewing current policies, surveying the campus community and exploring ways to encourage more viewpoint diversity with speakers, forums and debates,” Communications Director Rebecca Walsh told the outlet. “There is no better place than a college classroom to have these challenging and rewarding conversations.”
On Jan. 8, university President Taylor Randall announced the creation of the task force to the university community, stating that it would help to “ensure that our campus welcomes and respects the broad range of voices and perspectives of our students, as well as our faculty, staff and the communities we serve.”
”First, in the next nine months provide me with the results and
conclusions about our current campus climate based on survey research and focus groups with students,
faculty and staff,” Randall wrote at the time. ”Second, use those results to provide me a final report in the next 18 months with
recommendations on how to strengthen our campus climate so that all voices and perspectives of our
students, faculty, staff and community are welcomed and respected.”
In additional comments made to The Utah Daily Chronicle, Walsh stated that, “Higher education exists to explore humanity’s history of thought and ways of thinking, the development of new knowledge and ideas, and robust debate of both.”
Led by vice president for government relations and the director of the Hinckley Institute of Politics, Jason Perry, the task force is “dedicated to strengthening our campus climate so that all voices and perspectives are welcomed and respected.”
The group’s mission statement notes that, “Comprising faculty, students, staff, and trustee representatives, our team is charged with evaluating and assessing our campus environment related to the acceptance and diversity of a broad range of ideological viewpoints.”
[RELATED: Utah universities dismantle DEI to comply with state law]
The task force’s final report is expected to be finished by mid-2025.
Last month, the university’s Black Student Union and Pacific Islander Student Association decided to disaffiliate from the school after it ended various DEI-based (Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion) programming in accordance with state law.
This article was originally published at campusreform.org
