Alumni societies pull donations after Ohio State cuts diversity offices

Yahoo

07-03-2025

COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH) — When Ohio State alumna Destiny Brown heard her alma mater was getting rid of the diversity, equity and inclusion offices that molded her campus experience, she said her first feeling was grief.
She was not alone. In addition to the students and faculty speaking out against the university's actions, Ohio State alumni are organizing to make the university understand they have no interest in supporting these decisions. See previous coverage of Ohio State's decision in the video player above.
'We don't want students being indoctrinated. We don't want professors to be silenced,' said Sam Shim, past president of OSU's Asian and Pacific Islander Alumni Society. 'We like the university the way it is, and we don't want it to change. And if the university wants our donations as alumni, they need to maintain the programs that they had in place.'
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According to the university's fiscal year 2025 financial plan, the university anticipated nearly $600 million in donations this year. Shim said many alumni are calling for a full boycott of the university, halting donations, purchases and any other financial support until the DEI efforts are restored.
'For some alumni, they're not even willing to watch the games right now. I mean, it means that much,' Shim said.
Nearly 1,000 Ohio State students and professors marched on Tuesday against the university's decision to dissolve some DEI programs and offices. The night before, Brown said she and more than 70 other alumni met on a mass call to strategize a response and plan to support current students.
Instead of supporting Ohio State, she said many alumni are planning to only donate to affinity-based alumni groups. She said this funding is separate from the university, so any donations to alumni groups can support students without propping up the administration.
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On Feb. 28 — the day OSU closed its DEI offices — the university's Black Alumni Society put out a statement condemning the university's actions. The organization encouraged donations to the alumni society instead of the university so it can fund programs for students directly, particularly a cherished tradition celebrating Black students on their graduation.
The Asian and Pacific Islander Alumni Association followed suit, declaring solidarity with the Black Alumni Society and promoting Tuesday's on-campus protest. Ohio State's D.C.-based alumni group posted similarly, and 3,415 students, staff and alumni have signed a petition to reinstate the offices.
Shim said he believes OSU's decision will also have long-term financial consequences. He said alumni will continue to cut donations, and this will drive students away from Ohio State.
'DEI programs are still there in Michigan,' Shim said. 'They're still there in Illinois and so many other places, … and it's going to cause so many students to leave and then not come back to Ohio when they graduate. And we're concerned that this is going to hurt the university in the long run.'
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Brown said many alumni agreed with her that their experiences with the now-shuttered Office of Diversity and Inclusion were paramount in shaping their time at OSU. She said she and other alumni are fearful and overwhelmed that current and future students won't have the support they had, and agreed this will likely deter prestigious candidates from attending.
Brown said those she met at ODI were frequently top of their classes, winning competitive scholarships and fellowships. She believes driving these students away will make Ohio State lose a crucial edge on other universities.
She said it was particularly disheartening to see a university go from supporting, promoting and tokenizing diversity on campus after the 2020 Black Lives Matter protests to eliminating safe spaces for minority communities. She said many of her friends were used for promotional photos to amplify campus diversity, and it feels like it was only performative.
Brown said those communities she found in spaces like ODI are what Ohio State means to her. Both Shim and Brown said alumni do not plan on standing by, whether they begin joining on-campus protests or withholding donations.
'People are strategizing,' Brown said. 'We are doing everything we can to reverse this decision, to make sure that students are safe on campus, that the legacy of ODI continues and that Ohio State continues to have a competitive edge by investing and recruiting in the top students of the country, whether they come from a diverse background or not.'
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