Since January 2023, at least 116 college campuses have altered or eliminated offices, jobs, hiring practices, and programs that explicitly recruit and retain students and staff from marginalized communities in response to state legislation and political pressure, according to a Chronicle analysis.
The Chronicle combed through local media reports, spoke with faculty and students, and surveyed college administrators to better understand how pending and enacted anti-DEI legislation is changing campus services.
DEI offices have taken the greatest hit, with dozens of colleges renaming or closing departments. Colleges have cut funding for other DEI programs, and reassigned DEI employees to other parts of the institution.
Newly Updated
We’ve documented actions taken on hundreds of college campuses to alter or eliminate jobs, offices, hiring practices, and programs amid pressure to end identity-conscious recruitment and retention of minority staff and students.
On some campuses, including the University of Florida and the University of Texas at Austin, administrators have laid off much of their full-time DEI staff. Other colleges have scrapped the use of diversity statements, and mandatory training courses.
Efforts to eliminate identity-conscious recruitment and retainment of minority administrators, faculty, and students began in early 2023 after the Manhattan and Goldwater Institutes, two conservative think tanks, published model legislation in a push to reverse “the illiberal takeover of higher education through Diversity, Equity, Inclusion offices that, ironically, stifle intellectual diversity, prevent equal opportunity, and exclude anyone who dissents from a rigid orthodoxy.”
Since then, lawmakers have introduced at least 84 bills targeting DEI practices. Twelve have become law.
Several legislators in recent months have accused colleges of finding “workarounds” to continue programs and services for underrepresented students that are now banned.
On March 26, Sen. Brandon Creighton, the Republican sponsor of Texas’ anti-DEI bill, sent a letter to various leaders at Texas university systems, requiring them to submit a statement by May 3 about how they are complying with SB 17, which bans DEI offices and diversity training and restricts the use of diversity statements.
“While I am encouraged with the progress I have seen from many institutions of higher ed in implementing SB 17, I am deeply concerned with the possibility that many institutions may choose to merely rename their offices or employee titles,” Creighton said in the letter.
The Texas State Senate’s Committee on Education plans to hold a hearing in May for public colleges’ chancellors and general counsels to describe how they’ve updated their practices to comply with SB 17.
DEI advocates argue vague laws have led colleges to overcorrect. Students of color and LGBTQ students say they’ve lost essential mental-health resources, mentorship, and a range of other activities that they say help them connect with one another.
While some student organizations and staff members have attempted to legally bring some of the services back, they say it’s an uphill battle, especially as DEI staff continue to disappear.
Following Creighton’s letter, the University of Texas at Austin closed its Division of Campus and Community Engagement, which the university previously created to replace its DEI office, and fired an unspecified number of people working in DEI-related roles.
As more states introduce or enact legislation, The Chronicle will continue to track changes colleges are making to comply. You can find the latest updates here. If you’ve noticed any updates your institution or others have made to eliminate or alter DEI efforts, let us know by filling out this form.
