Boise State University is the latest college to dismantle its diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) offices, the university announced this week.
The Student Equity Center and Gender Equity Center were shut down during the school’s Thanksgiving break, and the decision to nix the DEI offices came in advance of an Idaho State Board of Education resolution restricting DEI initiatives on campus, which may pass soon.
“We all have heard the conversations taking place this year across the nation related to diversity, equity and inclusion and higher education,” BSU administrators said in an email announcing the news. “The Idaho State Board of Education has developed resolutions for Idaho universities, and we have provided feedback. We remain steadfast in our commitment to serving all students while seeking to be responsive to our governing board’s expectations.”
BSU will open a Student Connections and Support Center in DEI’s place, which will handle crisis interventions and offer students other resources and services.
The Gender Equity Center used to hold events such as a Rainbow Graduation, a ceremony to celebrate “LGBTQIA+ and allied graduates,” would hand out rainbow chords for graduation ceremonies, and offered confidential health services and counseling appointments, and more.
Colleges across America have been scaling back DEI initiatives in the weeks following President-elect Donald Trump’s victory. Trump and many of his potential cabinet members have signaled their desire to eliminate programs that push DEI goals. The Department of Justice and other agencies are expected to single out university DEI programs, specifically some controversial hiring and training practices promoted by DEI offices, for anti-discrimination lawsuits.
University of Michigan’s $250 million DEI programs, for example, encourage professors to discuss “characteristics of white supremacy culture” in class, characteristics such as “worship of the written word.” The university’s law school faculty must attend DEI training sessions on “gender identity” and “preferred pronouns.”
“In a survey released in late 2022,” the New York Times reported of the University of Michigan, “students and faculty members reported a less positive campus climate than at the program’s start and less of a sense of belonging. Students were less likely to interact with people of a different race or religion or with different politics.”
BSU’s decision comes after a bombshell report from parental advocacy group, Parents Defending Education, revealed this week that the U.S. Department of Education has funneled at least $1 billion worth of grant money into DEI programs since 2021; $489,883,797 on DEI hiring initiatives (race-based recruiting and training), $343,337,286 on DEI programming (restorative justice practices), and $169,301,221 on DEI based mental health initiatives (social emotional learning programs).