Ohio colleges and universities are cutting DEI programs, staff. Here's what we know
Diversity, equity and inclusion work at colleges and universities are under heightened scrutiny this year.
Mounting political pressures have put DEI programs, policies and offices under the microscope over the last few years. Those efforts though ramped up in 2025 as the Trump administration has taken aim at DEI efforts in the federal government, private sector and higher education.
Diversity, equity, and inclusion: Republicans want to eliminate DEI offices on campus. What do they do?
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Executive orders targeting DEI staff, funding, programs and resource webpages have attempted to make changes. Some colleges and universities have started rolling back DEI programs out of fear that not doing so will result in losing federal funding. But other schools began chipping away at these initiatives even before Trump took office.
This tracker intends to document ongoing changes at Ohio colleges and universities related to DEI programs, as well as help readers understand how these changes could reshape their campuses. These changes could include the revision or elimination of campus offices, jobs, training, diversity statements and other DEI-related work, as a result of bills, executive orders, mandates from internal leadership and other state actions.
Ashland University renamed its Office of Diversity, Equity and Inclusive Excellence to the Office of Community and Belonging in October 2023. The Ashland County private university announced in August 2023 that it planned to change the office's name to something "that doesn't set people off, but it also it captures the work that we do,' Alex Hill, the center's director, said in an email at the time.
In October 2024, Baldwin Wallace University shuttered its Office of Inclusion and eliminated several related faculty and staff positions, including its chief diversity and inclusion officer and vice president of student affairs. Then-Interim President Tom Sutton said in a statement at the time that the decision eliminate the DEI office and staffers was driven by a budget deficit and that it would seek "to continue supporting our students in new and sustainable ways."
Kent State University closed its standalone diversity, equity, and inclusion division in September 2023, instead merging its human resources and DEI offices to create the Division of People, Culture, and Belonging, President Todd Diacon announced at the time. The division handles traditional employee services, as well as offers workshops for students and faculty on equity topics like how to recognize bias and inclusive hiring practices.
Miami University changed the name of its Office of Institutional Diversity and Inclusion to the Office of Transformational and Inclusive Excellence, the university announced on X in October 2023. Cristina Alcalde, vice president for Institutional Diversity and Inclusion, told The Miami Student at the time that the name change was in the works for 'quite some time," and adding the word "transformational" more accurately represent the goals of the office.
Two Ohio State professionals whose work focused on diversity and inclusion at the university recently exited their roles. Wendy Smooth, senior vice provost of inclusive excellence, returned to a faculty role at the end of January. University officials said her role would be eliminated. Yolanda Zepeda, interim vice provost for diversity and inclusion, retired in mid-February. Zepeda told The Dispatch that her retirement was "not a decision make in the context of what is happening right now."
The University of Akron canceled its Rethinking Race forum, a weeklong event typically held during Black History Month for the last 18 years. University of Akron President R.J. Nemer said in a Feb. 11 statement that the decision to discontinue the series was made in part because attendance at a November event was low, thus decising not to move forward with it this year and to reallocate the funds, according to the Akron Beacon Journal.
The University also changed the name of its Office of Inclusion and Equity to the Office of Community Engagement, Opportunity, and Belonging, according to an archived website.
The University of Cincinnati announced its would dismantle its diversity, equity and inclusion policies, by the end of February to comply with Trump administration directives, according to a Feb. 21 university statement. President Neville G. Pinto said university leaders started "evaluating jobs and duties related to DEI and examining our DEI programming, initiatives and projects to bring all areas into compliance" and "removing references to DEI principles across university websites, social media and collateral materials." Neville said public, federally funded schools like UC "have little choice but to follow the laws that govern us."
The University of Toledo closed its Office of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion in July 2024 and moved the office's programs and activities to other departments, according to a university statement. For instance, the Multicultural Emerging Scholars Program and the Catharine S. Eberly Center for Women will be managed by the student-affairs division, and training and campus resources for faculty and staff will be overseen by the provost's office.
Xavier University took down webpages for its Center for Diversity and Inclusion and for diversity initiatives in the athletic department in mid-February, according to WVXU.
This article will be updated as Ohio colleges and universities make other changes.
Sheridan Hendrix is a higher education reporter for The Columbus Dispatch. Sign up for Extra Credit, her education newsletter, here.
shendrix@dispatch.com
@sheridan120
This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: DEI tracker: Ohio colleges cut offices, staff as federal mandates loom
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