The conservative-led fight against diversity, equity and inclusion efforts has been supercharged thanks to a powerful ally — the newly sworn-in President Donald Trump.
In recent years, many state legislatures have enacted anti-DEI laws, and even more have proposed these measures. But these attempts happened under the Biden administration, which supported diversity initiatives at colleges and sought to strengthen them at the federal level.
Trump has aimed to unravel that work.
He signed multiple executive orders attacking diversity efforts in the first couple days of his second term, including one declaring that college DEI policies and programs could amount to violations of federal civil rights laws. It also prompted federal agencies to identify organizations, including colleges with endowments over $1 billion, for potential civil compliance investigations.
Another executive order directed agencies to end all DEI programs and positions “under whatever name they appear.” It further sought to terminate federal “equity-related” grants and contracts, endangering massive swaths of college research funding.
Trump’s orders have incited confusion among higher education leaders and sparked legal challenges. However, colleges in states across the political spectrum are cutting DEI programs in response.
Below, Higher Ed Dive is rounding up the ever-growing list of colleges nixing DEI programs, pulling DEI language from institutional communications, and cancelling events aimed at supporting students from minority groups.
Arizona State University
On Jan. 27, the U.S. Office of Budget and Management released a memo calling for a massive freeze on federal funding to ensure government programs complied with Trump’s executive orders, including one targeting DEI. The news prompted Arizona State University to instruct its researchers to stop working on DEI-related activities on their federally funded projects and avoid using unspent funds allocated for DEI work.
Even after OMB rescinded the memo — and White House officials released conflicting messages on where the freeze stood — Arizona State told researchers to hold off.
“All Executive Orders remain in effect and will continue to be enforced,” the guidance said.
Arizona State has since placed that announcement — and its entire webpage dedicated to research operations news — behind a university login. The university did not immediately respond to a request for comment Tuesday.
Boston University
Boston University announced Jan. 30 that its Center for Antiracist Research would shutter on June 30. CAR’s 12 staff members will be employed through that time and “are receiving resources and support to assist with their transitions,” the university said.
The private nonprofit attributed the closure to the departure of Ibram X. Kendi, a prominent antiracist scholar and the center’s founder.
Kendi, who left to lead the Howard University Institute for Advanced Study in Washington, D.C., acknowledged the challenge of opening the center during the pandemic and the “intense backlash over critical race theory” it faced. CAR opened in 2020, shortly after the murder of George Floyd and the resulting demonstrations against police violence.
“I feel honored to have been able to do this work with you over the last five years,” Kendi said in a statement. “I am departing for an opportunity I could not pass up, but what connected us at CAR remains, especially during this precarious time.”
CAR prompted concern in 2023 when it laid off more than half its staff — a total of 19 employees — citing a need to restructure. Boston University launched an investigation into CAR’s use of grant funds, though its final audit found “no issues” with how the center managed its money.
California Polytechnic State University
California Polytechnic State University will eliminate its Office of University Diversity and Inclusion as an independent department and move it under the personnel division, the Mustang News, its student newspaper, reported in late January.
A spokesperson for the public minority-serving institution told Mustang News that the decision was “not in response to any outside influences.”
As of Tuesday, the university’s statement affirming diversity is still viewable online.
Michigan State University
Following Trump’s order against federal DEI programs, Michigan State University called off a webinar titled “The Future of DEI policy at MSU,” according to The State News, a student-run publication.
Officials postponed the event — which had been promoted to faculty and administrators — citing a desire among panelists to take time to familiarize themselves with the new order. They did not set a new date.
Michigan State’s College of Communication Arts and Sciences also canceled an event intended to celebrate the Lunar New Year, a holiday historically observed in East Asian and Southeast Asian communities.
Heidi Hennink-Kaminsk, dean of the college, cited community concerns over Trump’s executive orders “related to immigration and diversity, equity, and inclusion” when she announced the event’s cancellation.
“I ask you to view this decision not as a statement of policy, but rather as an appropriate on-the-ground response given a very short decision window and input from students who voiced concerns about gathering for this cultural celebration,” Hennink-Kaminsk said in an email obtained by The State News.
Missouri State University
On Jan. 29, Missouri State University announced it would shutter its Office of Inclusive Engagement and cut all campus DEI programming.
The public institution attributed the decision to both federal changes and “anticipated actions regarding DEI at the state level.”
“As a university, we value diverse thought and actions and support all our students, faculty and staff,” Missouri State President Richard Williams said in a statement. “However, 38% of our budget comes from the state. For us to continue providing a quality education to our students, we must align with the requirements laid out by state leadership.”
In Missouri, Republicans hold both chambers of the Legislature and the governor’s mansion. Lawmakers have unveiled bills that would ban state agencies from DEI spending and bar colleges from requiring job applicants to provide diversity statements.
Missouri State won’t terminate employees as part of the DEI office’s closure. Employees who previously served as faculty will return to their departments, while other staff members will fill other open positions, the university said.
Northeastern University
Northeastern University, in Massachusetts, has scrubbed its online presence of references to DEI following Trump’s executive orders. The private nonprofit also rebranded its Office of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion as the Office of Belonging.
Students criticized the change, but Northeastern officials argued the new administration left it no choice.
“We have an obligation to the entire Northeastern community — and to society as a whole — to make sure our work can continue,” the university said in a regularly updated FAQ. “Failing to comply with the law could jeopardize student financial aid and federally funded research across a range of disciplines and projects.”
The individual DEI webpages for some Northeastern departments, including the computer science college and the social sciences and humanities college, have also been removed.
Rutgers University
On Jan. 23, Rutgers University’s Center for Minority Serving Institutions canceled a conference about historically Black colleges and universities and apprenticeships.
“We have been instructed to cease all work under the Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Accessibility HUB at Jobs for the Future, which is supported by the U.S. Department of Labor funds,” Marybeth Gasman, executive of the center and education professor at Rutgers, said in an email, citing Trump’s recent executive orders.
The nonprofit Jobs for the Future partners with colleges, schools and employers to boost equitable economic outcomes.
Gasman called the decision unfortunate but said the center has much more happening in the future.
The decision to cancel the conference drew criticism from local officials.
Ras Baraka is mayor of Newark, New Jersey, where Rutgers has a campus, and is running for New Jersey governor.
“Rutgers, and any other schools preemptively pulling DEI programming, is an utter failure of courage in the face of political foolishness,” he said on social media. “But Rutgers should not feel alone in the face of this bully. I call on all private sector partners, responsible corporations, and those who believe in democracy to stand with our institutions against the threat of defunding.”
Stanford University
Stanford University leadership expects to cut some of the campus’ DEI programs and modify others following a compliance review with Trump’s executive order.
During a Jan. 23 faculty senate meeting, Stanford President Jonathan Levin said that Trump’s dramatically different view of DEI compared with the Biden administration’s stance will necessitate changes.
“We’re going to need to review programs on campus that fall under the DEI heading, and it’s likely that some will need to be modified or sunsetted,” he said. “We’re going to do that thoughtfully in reviewing them, and not in a reactive way, but with a focus on whether programs contribute meaningfully to our academic purpose.”
However, Levin also said that the private university’s values and mission should not fluctuate in response to changes in political power.
“The university has an enduring purpose to foster knowledge and to educate students, and that purpose is not fundamentally political. It’s intended to endure through political changes,” he said.
West Virginia University
West Virginia University will eliminate its Division of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion amid new state and federal restrictions. Even before Trump’s directives, West Virginia Gov. Patrick Morrisey broadly banned DEI at state-run institutions via an executive order he signed during his first full day in office, Jan. 14.
In place of the DEI office, the university said it will create the WVU Division of Campus Engagement and Compliance.
“This is not a rebranding, but a shift in focus that will align with the Governor’s directive,” the university said in its announcement.
Morrisey celebrated the news on Jan. 31.
“We’re going to keep going – this is just the beginning of our effort to root out DEI,” he said in a video message. “That’s going to happen more and more in the weeks and months ahead.”
West Virginia State University, one of two HBCUs in the state, is also reviewing its DEI efforts to comply with Morrisey’s order, according to local news sources.
Two watchdog organizations, the American Civil Liberties Union of West Virginia and the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression, have labeled the order unconstitutional. Calling for it to be rescinded, the groups said the order’s language is overly broad and could chill speech and interfere with classroom instruction.
