Rickey Hall, whose tenure as head of the University of Tennessee’s Office of Diversity and Inclusion has led to controversy, is moving to the state of Washington, reports WATE TV.
University of Washington announced Thursday Hall will be their new vice president of the Office of Minority Affairs and Diversity and chief diversity officer beginning on August 1.
“Rickey Hall brings enormous experience to the University of Washington,” said University of Washington Interim Provost Jerry Baldasty. “He has been a highly regarded leader in diversity for more than 20 years.”
Tennessee lawmakers have been calling on Hall to resign from his position at the University of Tennessee. A bill to strip the University of Tennessee’s Office for Diversity and Inclusion of all state funding has passed the House and Senate. The bill would divert all funds designated as salaries for the office, a total of $436,700, to minority engineering scholarships. Gov. Bill Haslam has not yet signed or vetoed the bill.
—
Note: The University of Washington press release is HERE. It doesn’t mention the controversies over gender-neutral pronouns, Christmas observances, sex week and such that triggered Tennessee legislator grumblings.