State auditor, Mississippi State official clash over what DEI looks like on college campuses

State Auditor Shad White, self-proclaimed as someone who “ruffles feathers,” decided to use his speech at the Neshoba County Fair last week to not only attack diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) in Mississippi schools but to also go after expected gubernatorial opponent Lt. Gov. Delbert Hosemann in the process.

Within minutes of taking the stage, White referred to DEI as “indoctrination” funded from the pockets of taxpayers and blamed a fellow Republican in Hosemann for allowing it to continue happening. White vouched that Hosemann should have already used his position as Senate leader to nix publicly funded DEI programs in Mississippi.

“This stuff is just nonsense. It’s just a waste of money. We’ve got to find a way to stop this,” White said. “Somebody’s got to explain to me like I’m a four-year-old or a well-trained golden retriever how all of these other states can ban money going to DEI and somehow, we cannot. This is just common sense. Stop spending money on DEI and start spending it on the stuff that matters.”

Meanwhile, Mississippi State University Vice President of Strategic Communications Sid Salter paints a different picture of what DEI looks like in Starkville and other college towns. He asserted that university staffers are not working to indoctrinate students – as White avidly suggests – but instead, are working to instill values that will help carry them through life.

“From the standpoint of Mississippi State University, nothing that the auditor talked about in terms of ‘woke indoctrination’ or trying to influence students in any direction politically or morally is happening or has happened at Mississippi State University,” Salter said during an appearance on The Gallo Show.

Salter, a former journalist, contended that Mississippi State President Dr. Mark Keenum is only looking to help students through DEI programs, not promote any nefarious agendas. Keenum, who former President Donald Trump tabbed as chair of the Board for International Food and Agriculture Development in 2018, has continued the tradition of opening the university’s doors to first-generation students, student-veterans, and other pupils of all backgrounds. Publicly funded programs aimed at diversity, equity, and inclusion are used as ways to do just that, according to Salter.

“I think we’re doing what we need to do in Mississippi. We’re taking young people who are hungry for good jobs, hungry for good lives, and who are in transition. When you talk about what we do to impact access, opportunity, and student access, that’s what we’re doing. Not DEI (as White considers it),” Salter said.

Salter even credited enrollment growth Mississippi State has seen in recent years to programs that incentivize people from a myriad of walks of life. Last year, a record-setting freshman class found a home in Starkville with another large class of first-year students expected this fall.

Salter, who still writes occasional political columns about both the state and national scenes, believes White is taking a play from Republican Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis in levying attacks at colleges’ DEI programs. He challenged the public to do their own research rather than allow politicians to tell them what DEI looks like at Mississippi schools.

“It’s worked for us because Mississippi State has experienced historic growth over the last 11 years or so,” he added. “The auditor is following an attack that Ron DeSantis followed in Florida and others. It’s kind of cookie-cutter on those issues. You’re going to get some of that. We’re glad for people to take a look at our programs and what we’re doing for our students.”

When SuperTalk Mississippi News reached out to White regarding Salter’s comments, the auditor quickly fired back and maintained that Mississippi State, along with other public universities, is using taxpayer money to push “woke” and leftwing ideologies.

“Every single university in Mississippi has self-reported spending that they put toward DEI funding and anyone who says otherwise, including Mississippi State, is simply wrong,” White said. “If Sid Salter is going to make an assertion that Mississippi State doesn’t spend any money on DEI or anything that could be considered woke, then he better make sure that the first things that pop up on the MSU website when you type in ‘diversity’ don’t directly mention DEI.”

White’s office sent over screenshots of Mississippi State’s website as well, calling it evidence of the university promulgating ideas he believes should not be publicly funded.

 

While the Mississippi Legislature has considered but not passed any bills that would bar state dollars from going to DEI programs on college campuses – a measure that Gov. Tate Reeves would almost certainly approve of, sources close to his office have confirmed – universities are beginning to set up guardrails to protect themselves from such legislation. Mississippi State, the University of Mississippi, and the University of Southern Mississippi have all taken steps to restructure their diversity, equity, and inclusion offices with hopes of avoiding a legislative ban.

J.T. Mitchell contributed to this report. 

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