AACSB Faces A Social Media Backlash Over Dropping Diversity Guidelines

Yahoo

10-03-2025

AACSB CEO Lily Bi says the reframing of diversity and inclusion in the agency's guidelines are meant to protect member business schools
President Donald Trump's campaign to stamp out diversity, equity and inclusion policies has caused the top global accrediting body to reframe its once loudly embrace of diversity and inclusion. The Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business (AACB) has replaced 'diversity and inclusion' with 'community and connectedness' in its guiding principles for accredited schools.
The update by the AACSB follows widespread criticism of DEI efforts by Trump and his Republican allies who argue that such initiatives constitute an immense public waste and shameful discrimination.' The change reflects an about-face for the AACSB. Only six months ago, Lisa Ordóñez, Dean of the Rady School of Management at UC San Diego, expressed gratitude towards the AACSB for promoting diversity in business education, especially amid challenges to DEI programs in various states.
Just last week, the University of Virginia became the latest state to abandon a DEI initiative. The university's governing board voted on Friday to dissolve the school's office of diversity, equity and inclusion. Republican Governor Glenn Youngkin, who had appointed the majority of members on UVA's Board of Visitors, praised the decision to remove the DEI office, saying the board voted for 'common sense.' 'DEI is done at the University of Virginia,' he said in a statement.
Nonetheless, the AACSB retreat has sparked immediate criticism of the agency on social media. Critics argue that the change undermines efforts to promote DEI in business education education and that the AACSB is yielding to political pressures, potentially hindering progress toward more inclusive educational environments. The backlash against the AACSB has been loudest in Europe where business schools have taken the lead on ESG (Environmental, Social, and Governance) initiatives.
Ioannis Ioannou, an associate professor of strategy at London Business School, calls the decision 'a failure of leadership.' In a post on LinkedIn, he wrote that 'business schools are responsible for shaping the next generation of leaders. What kind of message does this send? That principles are only worth defending when they are convenient? That commitments to fairness and representation can be erased the moment they become contentious? Even more troubling is the claim that the AACSB's 'mission remains the same.' If that were true, the words wouldn't need to disappear. Words matter. Commitments matter. Leadership is about standing firm in the face of pressure—not backing down when it becomes politically uncomfortable.'
Adds Guido Palazzo, a professor of business ethics at the University of Lausanne: 'This is pre-emptive sycophant obedience. Isn't that a good opportunity to drop this accreditation system in Europe?'
He's not the only critic to question the organization's viability. 'Time for a new accreditation body,' chimed in David Jacobs, an adjunct professor at American University and a lecturer at George Washington University. 'What next?,' asked Edward O'Connor, a lecturer & researcher at the School of Business at Maynooth University in Ireland. 'An approved list of texts and books? Time to rethink being a part of an organisation such as this!'
Brian Lucey, a professor of international finance & commodities at Trinity College Dublin, was just as pointed. 'So it's back to being the AMERICAN association. Cowardly and shortsighted.'
The AACSB says it made the change to mitigate legal and political risks for member schools, particularly in the U.S. states that have imposed restrictions on DEI initiatives. Despite the updated language, the agency maintains that its mission and values remain unchanged and that it continues to support inclusive educational environments. By adopting more neutral language, the AACSB hopes to protect its member business schools from potential legal challenges.
In a memo to the AACSB's more than 1,000 members, the agency said the change in wording reflected 'the current legal and political environment surrounding higher education and accreditation and reframed terms that have become politicized in the US and around the world . . . with a goal to proactively mitigate risks for our members and strengthen the organisation's long-term stability'.
Lily Bi, chief executive of the AACSB, told the Financial Times that 'DEI has become a very complex, evolving concept and very much politicized in the U.S.' and that the accrediting body had changed its wording to mitigate the risks for business schools in 27 U.S. states which had already imposed restrictions on DEI programs. At publication time, Bi did not respond to Poets&Quants' request for an interview. The change is sure to dominate the conversation at the organization's forthcoming annual international conference and annual meeting in Vienna next month.
She added that schools 'were facing tremendous challenges with the need to comply with local laws, maintain finances and uphold AACSB accreditation. Honestly our mission doesn't change, our values don't change. We still have inclusivity and we remain committed to the substance of DEI. If somebody weaponises this concept, we don't want this weapon shooting our members. It's better than nothing. There is no future-proof solution. If you take no action, that is the worst action.'
For Bi, who became CEO of the accrediting body in June of 2023, the backlash has become her most pressing challenge. Formerly an executive vice president at the Institute of Internal Auditors, Bi had to address the organization's finances.
The AACSB reported record revenue of $25.7 million in 2023, the latest year for which figures are available. But its expenses that year totaled $25.6 million, also a record. The result: AACSB's revenue minus expenses plunged to $111,340 from more than $3 million a year earlier.
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