Leaders of the University of Nebraska-Lincoln have announced a plan to boost inclusion and fight racism.
The plan includes providing regular anti-racist teaching seminars, reviewing the university’s current hiring processes in the context of race, and collaborating with Lincoln police to prevent poor treatment of minorities off campus.
Chancellor Ronnie Green and Vice Chancellor for Diversity and Inclusion Marco Barker detailed the plan in a campus-wide email sent Wednesday.
The plan is part of UNL’s Journey for Anti-Racism and Racial Equity, which began following the police killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis in May 2020.
University of Nebraska Regent Jim Pillen, running for the Republican nomination for governor, blasted the proposal as “wrong, unconstitutional…and Critical Race Theory.
Pillen said the Regents haven’t approved the plan, which he described as calling students and staff racist and giving preferential treatment in hiring based on race – adding that it’s “unacceptable” the Regents hadn’t been told about it in advance.
Another GOP gubernatorial hopeful, Charles Herbster, attacked Pillen this summer for not being more proactive in fighting Critical Race Theory.
This is the second time this month Pillen has blasted UNL officials. The first was for playing a song often described as the Black National Anthem right after the Star Spangled Banner before a Husker football game.