Higher education institutions are preparing for funding disruptions and heightened scrutiny of research or programming that could fall into the category of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion.
That’s after President Donald Trump signed an executive order, directing federal agencies to end DEI preferences, policies and activities.
The order also targets the private sector and federal contractors, including universities, which it claims have “adopted and actively use dangerous, demeaning, and immoral race- and sex-based preferences under the guise of so-called ‘diversity, equity, and inclusion’ (DEI) or ‘diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility’ (DEIA) that can violate the civil-rights laws of this Nation.”
Jonathan Feingold, an associate professor at Boston University School of Law who focuses on affirmative action and anti-discrimination law, said the order is vague.
“It does nothing to actually define in any way, with any precision, what the executive order is actually targeting or attacking,” he said.
Higher education institutions are still trying to understand what the order means for them, said Veena Dubal, the general counsel for the American Association of University Professors
“Is it going to extend into subject matter, into what people teach and research? Or is it going to be primarily focused on hiring practices?” she said about some of the unknowns.
More federal guidance is expected to follow the executive order, but for now, Dubal said, the ambiguity is generating a chilling effect on campuses.
“It's already having preemptive ripple effects with respect to how universities are thinking about how they may be targeted by the administration moving forward,” she said.
She’s heard from faculty who have changed their bios, worried about whether the administration’s definition of DEI extends to people who study race and equity, and she pointed to the University of Colorado Boulder, which scrubbed a DEI page from its website. The university told CPR News that it changed the name of the office before the inauguration and told KUNC that its legal team is in the process of analyzing recent executive orders.
Feingold said institutions may be taking action now because the signaled consequences are high. The order calls for up to nine universities with over $1 billion endowments to be investigated for having DEI programs. He said he’ll be watching to see if any university leaders stand up to the federal government for their diversity initiatives.
On the other hand, schools in Republican-led states like Utah, Idaho and Wyoming have already seen DEI offices close due to state bans or policies.
The Idaho State Board of Education signed off on a resolution cracking down on DEI at public universities in December, saying it “recognizes and values the unique diversity of Idahoans and expects the postsecondary institutions to foster a campus culture that appreciates and reflects this diversity.”
But universities in states with anti-DEI policies haven’t been immune to funding uncertainty. Several schools in the Mountain West, including CU Boulder, Arizona State University and the University of Utah, released guidance for scientific researchers supported by federal grants after a federal funding freeze, billed as a way to make sure spending aligns with recent executive orders. Though the freeze has been rescinded, some research projects still face stop-work orders from federal agencies.
This story was produced by the Mountain West News Bureau, a collaboration between Wyoming Public Media, Nevada Public Radio, Boise State Public Radio in Idaho, KUNR in Nevada, KUNC in Colorado and KANW in New Mexico, with support from affiliate stations across the region. Funding for the Mountain West News Bureau is provided in part by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting.
