Race on Campus

How one university cut an entire DEI division

• The University of Texas at Austin laid off dozens of employees in April, most working in the division of campus and community engagement. Though employees were aware that Senate Bill 17, which banned diversity training and programs that promote differential treatment on the basis of race, gender, or sexuality at public colleges in Texas, for many the news came as a shock. Our Katherine Mangan reports on the layoffs and how they are raising alarms at other institutions’ DEI offices that could see similar cuts.
• New anti-DEI legislation goes into effect in Utah, Indiana, Kansas, and Idaho. Since the start of the year, state lawmakers have introduced at least 39 bills aimed at eliminating or restricting higher education’s diversity, equity, and inclusion programs in 19 states. Our Maggie Hicks details the laws that have gone into effect.
• It’s been a year since the U.S. Supreme Court effectively outlawed consideration of a college applicant’s race. But that’s not the only change affecting this year’s enrollment cycle. Many colleges opted not to download their applicants’ demographic information until they had finalized this fall’s freshman class. That work has stretched far into the summer, thanks to the disastrous rollout of the new Free Application for Federal Student Aid. Soon enough, the public will be able to see how many Black, Latino/a, Asian American, Native American, and white students have enrolled at colleges this fall. Our Eric Hoover’s reporting serves as a reminder that these numbers tell only a part of the story about where and if students go to college.