Subversive For Good Reason: How Academics are Traversing Changes in the DEI Landscape

By Sierra Pawlak

Disclaimer: Participants of the Conversation Circle whose stories and advice are shared in this article will remain anonymous. This is to ensure that TAA members still receive key takeaways from the meeting, without repercussions to attendees.

During the February 26, 2025 TAA Conversation Circle, “Incorporating Inclusive Content Into Your Writing,” TAA members shared their concerns with the ever-changing political landscape of DEI. While some participants said their university had a “keep calm and carry on” approach, others experienced changes in diversity-related job titles, eradication of DEI language altogether, and even the possible loss of grant funding.

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TAA’s DEI Committee Reads Land and Labor Acknowledgement at 2024 Annual Conference

TAA’s DEI Committee (CDEI) Chair Laura Frost read a Land and Labor Acknowledgement at the opening session of its 2024 Textbook & Academic Authoring Conference in Nashville, TN on June 21.

“As a member of both TAA’s Board and CDEI, I believe that incorporating land and labor acknowledgments into our diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) efforts is a critical step in recognizing the contributions and rights of marginalized groups,” said TAA DEI Committee Member Nicole Dillard. “Land acknowledgments honor the indigenous communities who have historically cared for the land, acknowledging their enduring connection and the injustices they have faced. This practice fosters cultural sensitivity and awareness among our members, promoting a more respectful and inclusive organizational culture. Similarly, labor acknowledgments are equally important as they recognize the diverse contributions of labor, particularly those from underrepresented groups.

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TAA Featured in Episode of The A&P Professor Podcast

TAA was featured in an episode of The A&P Professor podcast on April 12, “Pulse of Progress, Looking Back, Moving Forward,” with host Kevin Patton, an award-winning anatomy and physiology textbook author. Kevin’s comments about the benefits of TAA membership and invitation to attend TAA’s 2024 Conference on Textbook & Academic Authoring come in at 50:22.

In the episode, Kevin says: “With a strongly supportive network of colleagues, TAA provides many resources and active, engaging opportunities for growth and network-forming. TAA meets the needs of those interested in creating textbooks, lab manuals, workbooks, and other learning resources, as well as those who focus on academic writing, such as journal articles, dissertations/theses, monographs, and scholarly or other nonfiction works.”

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Busy TAA People: TAA member recognized at SLU Black History Month Gala

TAA Sisters of the Academy Chapter Member Dr. Dannielle Joy Davis, received the Dr. Jonathan C. Smith Faculty/Staff Appreciation Award from Saint Louis University on February 24, 2023.

The Award, named after SLU’s late inaugural vice president for diversity and community engagement, was given to members of the SLU community who were judged to have shown “tremendous dedication and commitment to supporting the Black community at Saint Louis University while facilitating major social change on campus and within the St. Louis community.”

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Incorporating Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion into Textbooks

The need to address diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) extends to the materials we use to teach students. For authors, it can be tempting to relegate DEI discussions to feature boxes or individual chapters in a textbook—“add-on” features that may unintentionally convey exceptionalism. DEI should be as much a part of a manuscript as proper sentence structure and organization; it should exist within and throughout the narrative and encompass how the reader experiences the text, including visuals and accessibility. It is our responsibility to accurately reflect our diverse world.

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Are you older than your professors? There’s hope

I immediately recognized Marlene’s voice on the phone. She was one of the brightest and most conscientious doctoral students I have ever served in my academic coaching and editing practice. An older student, “nontraditional,” Marlene had returned for her doctorate after three of her four kids were grown and on their own. She held down a full-time job in medical billing, and her youngest was now in high school, so Marlene embarked on a lifelong dream—she enrolled in a doctoral program. We were working together on the first of her course papers.

But now, instead of greeting me, Marlene fumed for ten minutes. Her professor had track-changed almost every page of her essay and added a four-paragraph single-spaced memo stuffed with questions. Marlene shouted over the phone, “I’m calling the doctoral police!”

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