USF administrator resigns after DEI comments draw conservative furor

Catch up quick: Brown was USF Health's senior associate vice president for academic and faculty affairs and, at one point, its top diversity officer, the Tampa Bay Times reports.

• He faced backlash after an audio recording surfaced that appeared to capture him saying that the state's crackdown on DEI led to changes in titles and program names but that his work remained the same, per the Times.
• "Isn't that slippery?" he said.
• Brown also criticized White House adviser Stephen Miller, Gov. Ron DeSantis and Florida surgeon general Joseph Ladapo.

Driving the news: Brown resigned after USF placed him on administrative leave over the comments, according to the Times.

• USF spokesperson Althea Johnson denounced Brown's comments in a statement to the Times, saying, "The university follows all state and federal guidance, policies and laws, and any suggestion otherwise by Dr. Brown is untrue."

Yes, but: Brown's comments about DEI bore similarity to those of USF president Rhea Law — who said that the university's mission and values hadn't changed even though its Office of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion no longer exists.