Good morning, and welcome to Tuesday, April 16. Laura Krantz wrote today’s Briefing, with contributions from Forest Hunt. Julia Piper compiled Comings and Goings. Get in touch: dailybriefing@chronicle.com.
Tracking the anti-DEI fallout is messy
Since January 2023, at least 116 public colleges have altered or killed jobs, practices, and programs that aim to advance diversity and inclusion. That’s according to a new Chronicle database tracking the influence of Republican-backed anti-DEI bills that have proliferated over the past 15 months.
By now, you’ve probably visited our DEI Legislation Tracker, which documents the bills. Starting today, our reporters and editors are also tracking the changes prompted by that legislation, as well as executive orders, system mandates, and other state-level initiatives targeted at colleges’ diversity efforts.
The new resource reveals a confusing, inconsistent landscape, as institutions take vastly different approaches to mounting political pressure. You can find the new tracker on our site. Let’s dive into a few of the takeaways.
Most changes are in Florida and Texas, where GOP-controlled legislatures have cracked down hardest on DEI. Nine institutions in Florida made changes, along with 26 institutions in Texas.
- Other affected states include Arizona, Georgia, Idaho, Iowa, Missouri, North Carolina, North Dakota, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee, Utah, and Wisconsin.
DEI offices have taken the greatest hit, Chronicle reporters found after combing through local media reports, interviewing faculty members and students, and surveying administrators.
- This month the University of Texas at Austin laid off more than 60 employees who had worked in diversity-related roles. The University of Florida laid off 13 employees in March. Dozens of other institutions renamed or closed their DEI departments. Still others scrapped the use of mandatory diversity statements and training.
Colleges are all over the map on what dismantling DEI actually looks like. One Texas college eliminated its multicultural center, while another opened a multicultural center to replace a DEI office, my colleagues found last month in a survey of public-college administrators in Texas and Florida.
Lately, several Republican lawmakers have accused colleges of trying to evade the new laws. Last month State Sen. Brandon Creighton, the Republican sponsor of Texas’ DEI ban, specifically called out efforts by colleges to rename DEI centers and jobs. University leaders and lawyers in May will have to describe to a state Senate committee how they’ve complied with the legislation.
But DEI advocates say the vague laws are causing an overreaction. Students have lost important mental-health and mentorship resources and opportunities to connect with one another, advocates say. Efforts to preserve some resources face steep challenges.
- UT-Austin initially tried to move programs and staff members into a new unit, the Division of Campus and Community Engagement.
- Following Creighton’s letter, the university nixed that plan.
The big picture: The rollout of the laws has in many ways left no one satisfied. As new bills continue to be filed, the future of diversity efforts seems messy and uncertain. Read an analysis by our Maggie Hicks.
You can help us: Do you know about a change that’s not listed? Tell us by filling out this form or by emailing deitracker@chronicle.com.