By Kanishka Singh
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The University of Michigan – long seen as a bastion of diversity, equity and inclusion programs – said on Thursday it was closing its DEI office, citing executive orders from President Donald Trump and a warning from the federal Education Department.
WHY IT’S IMPORTANT
Since taking office on January 20, Trump has passed executive orders aimed at dismantling DEI in the government and private sector. The U.S. Education Department, in mid-February, warned of cuts in federal funding for universities if they continued with DEI programs.
The university said on Thursday it did not make its decision lightly and acknowledged its changes will be challenging for many people who support the programs. Its DEI office was launched almost a decade ago.
KEY QUOTES
“The Office of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion and the Office for Health Equity and Inclusion will close. Student-facing services in ODEI will shift to other offices focused on student access and opportunity,” the office of the university’s president said.
“The DEI 2.0 Strategic Plan, the umbrella strategy for schools, colleges and units, will be discontinued.”
CONTEXT
Rights advocates say DEI programs help uplift marginalized communities by addressing historic inequities. Trump and his allies call the programs anti-merit and discriminatory against white people and men.
DEI programs have been part of workplace diversity efforts to ensure fairer representation for groups seen as historically marginalized, such as African Americans, LGBTQ+ community members, women, disabled people and other ethnic minorities in the United States.
DEI efforts picked up pace, including in the private sector, in 2020 after the murder of George Floyd, a Black man who died after a white Minneapolis police officer knelt on his neck for several minutes.
By last year, the university had spent more than $250 million on DEI efforts, the New York Times reported.
(Reporting by Kanishka Singh in Washington; Editing by Stephen Coates)
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