University of Michigan abruptly closes DEI offices and ends strategic plan to promote diversity
University of Michigan | Susan J. Demas
A decade after taking the lead on matters of diversity, equity and inclusion, or DEI, at the university level, the University of Michigan announced Thursday it will cease all formal efforts in that regard.
In an email sent to faculty, staff and the university community, officials said they were closing U of M's Office of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion and Office for Health Equity and Inclusion, while also halting its DEI 2.0 Strategic Plan
The changes, which are effective immediately, come in the wake of executive orders from President Donald Trump ending all DEI 'mandates, policies, programs, preferences, and activities' in the federal government, and forbidding federal contractors from considering 'race, color, sex, sexual preference, religion, or national origin' in employment, procurement, and contracting practices.
'These decisions have not been made lightly. We recognize the changes are significant and will be challenging for many of us, especially those whose lives and careers have been enriched by and dedicated to programs that are now pivoting,' stated an email signed by university officials, including President Santa J. Ono and Provost Laurie K. McCauley.
Noting that federal actions against DEI programming had intensified in recent weeks, including another executive order to 'facilitate the closure' of the U.S. Education Department, university officials said the decisions were made after an 'assessment of input from various stakeholders regarding our DEI programs…and after conversations with Regents, university leaders, deans and government officials'. It's not known exactly how many employees will be impacted by the changes, but a 2021 report by the Heritage Foundation, the same organization that produced Project 2025, U of M employed 163 people on DEI initiatives.
The announcement is a complete turnaround for the university which previously touted itself as having led 'an unprecedented campus-wide DEI Strategic Plan in 2015,' in which it had 'shown uncommon leadership in its commitment to higher education access, equity, and positive cultural change.' That initial plan ran from 2016 to 2021.
The university's DEI 2.0 Strategic Plan, launched in 2023 and initially set to continue through 2028, will be halted immediately. It had a stated 'commitment to ensuring a diverse, equitable and inclusive community with even more sharply defined goals, new innovations and investments, and enhanced measures of accountability'.
U of M Board of Regents Chair Sarah Hubbard, a Republican, defended the changes, posting on social media that the money being saved by ending its diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives would instead be used 'to support making Michigan more affordable for our students and families through expansion of the Go Blue Guarantee to family incomes of $125,000 or less and other student facing supports.' Hubbard insisted that 'eliminating bureaucratic overspending' would make U of M more accessible.
That was echoed by Regent Jordan Acker, a Democrat, who said the policy changes were 'fundamentally about improving our diversity efforts to make them work better.'
Acker, who began voicing concerns over the university's DEI programs last year, said the university had spent $250 million on diversity efforts in recent years, much of it to administrative overhead, while the population of minority students had seen little growth.
'At Michigan, the focus of our diversity efforts needs to be meaningful change, not bureaucracy,' he posted.
However, the decision has also drawn criticism, including from ACLU Michigan, which released a statement late Thursday condemning what it viewed as acquiescence to authoritarianism.
'In a moment when we need leaders to be vigilant in defending our collective communities, it is extremely disappointing to see a public institution like the University of Michigan succumbing to authoritarian bullying of the Trump administration without a fight,' read the statement.
'While the University certainly did not make this decision lightly, many of our community institutions – such as our local libraries, schools and other institutions of higher education – are fighting to adhere to their values under enormous pressure, while one of our largest, most well-resourced institutions with a history and commitment to diversity, equity and inclusion, has capitulated,' it stated.
Rebekah Modrak, the chair of the university's Faculty Senate and a professor at the Stamps School of Art, referred to the sweeping executive orders as 'the power of the government to engineer a sweeping culture change towards white supremacy,' and said the university's leadership 'seem determined to comply and to collaborate in our own destruction.'
Modrak questioned what the ultimate outcome of this decision would be.
'These missteps by our university will not end here; they will lead, as they have done in Texas and Ohio, to the censorship of course and program content,' she said.
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