Diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) offices on college campuses have two choices under the Trump regime: shutter, or try to rebrand.
Virginia Tech, one of the best public universities in the country, initially chose the latter. New documents acquired by free speech rights organization Speech First and shared exclusively with National Review shed light on how school administrators attempted to evade President Donald Trump’s crackdown on DEI.
Weeks after Trump entered office, the school renamed its Office of Inclusion and Diversity to the Office of Inclusive Strategy and Excellence in response to “Anti DEI legislation,” according to notes from a Diversity and Inclusion Council Meeting received via public records request. The new office, though later dismantled after threats of a funding freeze from the Trump administration, integrated the goals of the old DEI office: “increase faculty, staff and student diversity”; “ensure a welcoming, safe and accessible campus climate”; “institutionalize structures to promote sustainable transformations”; “advance the academic mission through inclusion and diversity.”
“These emails highlight how deep the rot runs in higher education — not just at the universities themselves, but also among governing bodies like the ACC,” Speech First president Nicki Neily said. “Far too many education officials are simply putting lipstick on a pig, renaming departments and programs while continuing to discriminate on the basis of race and sex behind closed doors. In my opinion, this demonstrates clear mens rea — and I have no doubt that over the next three years, the Trump administration will find these bad actors and hold them accountable.”
Although after pressure from the Trump administration Tech’s Board of Visitors voted to dismantle its Office of Inclusive Strategy and Excellence in late March, university administrators first worked to “reframe” DEI goals directly after Trump handed down his February executive order banning men from women’s sports.
When in mid-March Tech’s athletic director asked if a Diversity and Inclusion Attestation course was still required for Tech’s participation in the Atlantic Coast Conference (a collegiate athletic conference), Tech’s executive associate athletic director reported that the course “will continue to be a conference requirement,” according to internal emails.
The associate AD reminded student athletes in March that they were required to complete the Student-Athlete Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Belonging Education course online, in spite of Trump’s EO. According to an email, much of the course’s content was lifted from RISE, a nonprofit that “[educates] and empowers the sports community to eliminate racial discrimination, champion social justice and improve race relations,” the administration said in an email. The specific required course focused on “identity, understanding perspectives and using sports as a vehicle for social change.”
Tech’s associate AD also attended the ACC Unite conference in mid-March, which discussed “reframing DEI” and “how to achieve the existing aims of DEI without the existing framework,” according to an agenda. Also per the agenda, small group sessions focused on race-based programming, gender equity, LGBTQ allyship, and cultural competency.