Ohio State cuts diversity offices, programming
COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH) — Ohio State University announced its next steps in reviewing the institution's diversity, equity and inclusion policies, which will include discontinuing the Office of Diversity and Inclusion and modifying scholarships geared toward students of diverse backgrounds.
In a message to students, faculty and staff on Thursday, Ohio State President Ted Carter laid out initial steps to comply with new state and federal directives about higher education. To start, Carter said, the university is closing its Office of Diversity and Inclusion, discontinuing the programming and services under Student Life's Center for Belonging and Social Change, and renaming the Office of Institutional Equity to the Office of Civil Rights Compliance.
Carter said these decisions will not affect current student scholarships or financial aid. It will modify the eligibility for scholarship programs like the Morrill Scholarship or Young Scholars Program. The Morrill Scholarship is historically awarded to students who will actively engage in diversity-based leadership, and the Young Scholars Program is geared toward first-generation, low income underrepresented students.
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Carter also said the university will work with anyone employed under discontinued departments, student or staff, to find new university employment opportunities. He also confirmed all students would be offered alternative jobs. However, the university acknowledged these decisions will result in some position eliminations.
Carter said the decision came because of federal threats to withdraw funding if DEI programs continued, including a memo from President Donald Trump's administration with a Friday deadline to eliminate diversity programs. He also said Ohio's Senate Bill 1, which would ban DEI on college campuses and passed in the Senate on Feb. 12, is making its way through the legislature.
'The Attorney General of Ohio – our statutory counsel – has advised us that his office concurs with the federal government's position regarding the use of race in educational activities,' Carter said.
Senate Bill 1 has not yet passed in the House of Representatives, and teachers unions are challenging Trump's directive, alleging it violates the First and Fifth Amendments.
Ohio State's Office of Diversity and Inclusion oversees the university's Black cultural center, Bell National Resource Center on the African American Male, Women's center and a variety of diverse programs geared toward uplifting minority students. It also housed the Morill and Young Scholars programs, which will be transferred to the Office of Academic Affairs.
The Center for Belonging and Social Change offered workshops, grants and networking opportunities to ensure all students live and learn on a welcoming campus, according to its website. According to the website's 'About Us' page, which does not mention diversity, race or gender, the center discussed civic engagement and social change.
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Ohio State faculty and students have spoken out against legislation like S.B. 1, telling lawmakers, Ohio State officials, and NBC4 that they felt legislation barring DEI would harm higher education.
'If S.B. 1 succeeds in Ohio, it will embolden politicians everywhere to kill higher education under the guise of 'neutrality,'' Sabrina Estevez, a second-year student at Ohio State, said. 'This is a warning: the fight for academic freedom isn't just Ohio's fight, it's America's fight.'
'These are difficult conversations, as we knew they would be. All of higher education is facing a challenging environment,' Carter said. 'Nonetheless, I continue to believe that the best course for our university is to take actions proactively so that we can manage this new landscape in ways that best uphold the values of excellence, access and opportunity that we hold dear.'
The Office of Diversity and Inclusion and the Center for Belonging and Social Change will both be discontinued starting Friday.
Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
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