A university department chair told members of faculty to end promotion of a external scholarship program from DFW Hispanic Communicators due to Texas Senate Bill 17 on March 25, 2025. Photo by Ismael Beltran
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A university department chair told members of faculty to end promotion of a external scholarship program from DFW Hispanic Communicators due to Texas Senate Bill 17 on March 25, 2025. Photo by Ismael Beltran
A university department chair told faculty not to promote an external scholarship program open to all students this week after confusion arose regarding compliance with Texas Senate Bill 17.
The scholarship program in question is from DFW Hispanic Communicators, an organization of media professionals that seeks to “[further] the visibility and role of Latinos,” according to the organization’s website.
“Our scholarships have always been and will continue to be open to all students, regardless of race or background,” HCDFW President Rebecca Lopez said in an email to the North Texas Daily. “We award scholarships based on merit, not ethnicity.”
University employees may not promote external scholarships intended to support students of a specific demographic such as race, ethnicity or gender due to SB 17, Senior Director of University Relations Melisa Brown said in an email to the Daily.
SB 17, signed into law by Gov. Greg Abbott in 2023, prohibits Texas public institutions of higher education from undertaking diversity, equity and inclusion efforts and from requiring employees to participate in DEI training or make DEI statements.
On March 24, HCDFW Secretary Valerie Gonzalez sent an email to professors from multiple universities in the North Texas area, sharing information about the organization’s scholarship program and asking faculty to pass it along to their students.
This email was sent to several professors at the university, including Phyllis Slocum, a principal lecturer in the media arts department. On March 25, Slocum forwarded this email to media arts Chair Henry Benshoff, who was also sent the original email by Gonzalez.
“Harry—RED FLAG ALERT – please read..you may need to jump in and ill [sic] it…,” Slocum said in the email to Benshoff.
A few minutes later, Benshoff sent an email to media arts faculty and staff and Gonzalez. James Mueller, the Mayborn School of Journalism’s interim dean, and journalism Professor Tracy Everbach were copied onto the email.
“We were told this morning that even advertising or promoting a Hispanic scholarship is in violation of SB17,” Benshoff said in the email. “We had to remove flyers for another one this morning.”
It is unclear who gave Benshoff this information, and he did not respond to the Daily’s interview request.
“UNT has not made a determination about the promotion of the Hispanic Communicators DFW scholarship program because it has not been submitted for review by UNT’s Integrity and Compliance office,” Brown said in the email to the Daily.
On March 25, Everbach wrote about the halting of the scholarship’s promotion in a private Facebook post. On March 26, Everbach was contacted about the post by Julie Payne, university assistant vice president of communications, and Payne and Brown spoke to Everbach on the phone. Payne said she believed confusion arose after faculty members were told they were prohibited from promoting a different scholarship that was limited to students of a specific demographic.
The university’s external scholarships and resources webpage includes links to information about scholarships, including one that reads, “Accredited Schools Online: Scholarships and Financial Aid for Minority Students.” Another link leads to a list of scholarships on the Texas comptroller’s website that includes gender-specific scholarships.
Lopez, who is also the senior crime and justice reporter at WFAA and a university alumna, told the Daily the organization has provided “hundreds of thousands of dollars” to students since it began offering scholarships in the 1990s.
“We feel it’s important to continue to grow journalists and continue the legacy of excellence from current and former members,” Lopez said.
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