Dr. Sean Walker

After four months of demanding change, students at the University of Tennessee at Martin (UTM) may be one step closer to their goal of creating a more diverse and inclusive education.

This story was updated at 8 p.m.

The movement seeking a required Black history and culture course at University of Tennessee at Martin (UTM) faced another setback during yesterday’s UTM Faculty Senate Executive Committee meeting. UTM Faculty Senate President Sean Walker said none of the voting members cast a motion to vote on the resolution proposed by the UTM Black History Matters Coalition (BHMC). 

  The president of the University of Tennessee at Martin Faculty Senate is clarifying past comments following controversy and allegations over the removal of a resolution in a faculty senate meeting that would require students take a Black history and culture course.

  Two student organizations at the University of Tennessee at Martin (UTM) hosted a virtual forum on Oct. 5 in support of an African American History and Culture course requirement for all programs. The students expected the UTM Faculty Executive Committee would vote on the measure during the Oct. 6 meeting, but later learned the resolution had been removed from the agenda. The vote didn’t happen.