After a "national search," the University of Alabama has named André Denham, one of the school's top advocates for diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI), as associate provost and dean of graduate studies.
The press release announcing his promotion omitted the years Denham spent on the Faculty Senate and leading the Black Faculty and Staff Association (BFSA), where direct actions under his leadership had national implications for UA's reputation.
According to a write-up in The Journal for Blacks in Higher Education, Denham was elected president of the BFSA in 2018 and served a two-year term. In 2020, Chad Jackson was elected president, and Denham became the vice president of the organization.
During his tenure as president of the organization, the BFSA and Denham personally showed support for a dean who left the school amid a Breitbart News investigation written by a University of Alabama alumnus.
"A series of resurfaced tweets from Dr. Jamie R. Riley, the University of Alabama's assistant vice president and dean of students, show he once believed the American flag and police in America are racist," the story explained before showing tweets by Riley.
The departure led to multiple protests, and Denham was at the center of several of them, with BFSA posting several countdowns to the events, including a "Die In" where an image of Denham looking on can be seen, and another, a "Work In" where, a month after Riley's departure, Denham is pictured again.
Under Denham's leadership, a letter was written to Bell defending Riley's right to say the American flag and cops are racist. The New York Times picked it up, putting the University's reputation at risk.
"'Your silence on this matter is troubling as it presumes agreement with these external parties and instills fearfulness within those who do work in this area,' the Black Faculty and Staff Association wrote in a letter to Stuart R. Bell, the university president. It urges him to bolster the university's diversity efforts, adding that the circumstances could make recruiting and retaining minorities even more challenging," the New York Times reported.
Denham didn't stop there. Later, he was credited with urging the Faculty Senate to insert the word "racism" into a letter to president Stuart Bell.
"Amid disagreement over the language of a letter from the Senate addressing Riley's resignation, Faculty Senate president Rona Donahue asked her colleagues, 'So we're saying that The University of Alabama has a racist and toxic environment?' to which various members responded 'Yes,' while others murmured seemingly in disagreement," the Crimson White reported.
"Senators then deliberated over edits to an open letter from the Faculty Senate to the University addressing concerns surrounding Riley's resignation," the story explained. "André Denham, an associate professor and president of the Black Faculty and Staff Association, suggested several changes to the letter, mainly to ensure the word "racism" would be included in the letter."
The next month, a report to the Faculty Senate announced, "President Bell has announced the formation of a Presidential Advisory Committee to support ongoing coordination and expansion of efforts related to diversity, equity, and inclusion at The University of Alabama." Denham was on it.
In a story highlighting the BFSA's virtual programming in September of 2020, the Crimson White reported on the group's mission and even quoted Denham.
“BFSA is committed to fighting for equity, advocating for social justice and speaking out against racial violence in the city of Tuscaloosa, the state of Alabama and our nation,” BFSA wrote in a June statement responding to the killings of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor and Ahmaud Arbery.
In regard to change being enacted on UA campus, Jackson said they have reaffirmed their partnership with the University and President Stuart Bell. BFSA has served as the voice for not only faculty and staff, but also students because “after the conversations, there comes change.”
“This whole University… exists to help students,” said Andre Denham, BFSA’s vice president and assistant professor of education technology. “And for African American students, Black students, on a predominantly white campus, they definitely are going to need help to navigate this space.”
Denham promoted a book on his Instagram account called "Campus Uprisings". This book, in which non-HBCU colleges are referred to as "White Serving Institutions" (WSIs), makes overly broad statements that most colleges function as inherently racist.
1819 News reached out to the university to ask whether Denham's recent promotion and rapid ascent can be seen as President Peter Mohler embracing the same practices of diversity, equity, and inclusion that Bell put in place. The university did not reply.
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