Indiana University's LGBTQ+ Health Care Conference the latest DEI event to be canceled

USA Today

10-02-2025

AI-assisted summary
The Indiana University School of Medicine canceled its LGBTQ+ Health Care Conference less than three months before the event.
The conference, which has been held annually since 2017, focused on informing healthcare providers on the unique needs of LGBTQ patients.
The cancelation comes amid a wave of similar cancellations and suspensions of DEI-related programs across the country.
The Indiana University School of Medicine has said little about its decision to cancel its LGBTQ+ Health Care Conference less than three months before the event was to take place.
The conference dedicated to 'informing healthcare providers on the unique needs of LGBTQ patients' has been hosted annually by the IUSOM, either virtually or in-person, since 2017.
The Indianapolis Business Journal first reported the cancelation on Jan. 31, which came via an update to the conference's website. The IUSOM first cited 'multiple emerging factors' before revising the statement to simply say, 'The IU School of Medicine LGBTQ+ Health Care Conference has been canceled.' The statement is still reflected on the conference's website.
Chris Geidner, a journalist and legal expert who covers LGBTQ+ issues at the U.S. Supreme Court, says he was invited to be a keynote speaker at the 2025 conference just two days before he was informed it would not be held. Geidner says the abrupt cancelation, without reason, leaves him to believe efforts aimed at targeting diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives (DEI) across the U.S. and in Indiana played a role.
'Either they decided on their own to cancel it, or someone told them that they needed to,' said Geidner. 'The school at least has the obligation to say why.'
Conference cancelation comes in the wake of executive, legislative actions targeting DEI
The IUSOM-hosted LGBTQ+ Health Care Conference is just one of several DEI-related conferences and programs that have been canceled or suspended in recent weeks. In January, Rutgers University in New Jersey canceled a DEI conference just days before it was set to begin, citing pressure from the federal government and Trump administration to refrain from DEI programming.
Michigan State University also canceled a DEI-focused webinar in late January. Organizers said they were concerned about Trump's executive order targeting DEI in federal workforce hiring, spending and contracting.
In Indiana, both Gov. Mike Braun and state elected officials also have sought to scale back DEI programs in the state. Braun signed an executive order banning the governor's DEI office and directing state agencies not to fund positions, activities or trainings that 'grant preferential treatment' based on race or ethnicity.
Senate Bill 289, which prohibits mandatory DEI training in public schools and restricts DEI programs at state universities, passed the Indiana Senate on Feb. 6 and now heads to Braun's office for approval.
Geidner believes the slew of executive and legislative actions targeting DEI programs are likely behind the IUSOM conference decision. He says he's disappointed and that he believes the school should to provide an explanation.
'The needs of LGBTQ patients didn't change because Trump and Mike Braun issued those orders. Those are still the same,' Geidner said. 'If nothing else, the students, faculty and staff have a right to know who made that decision and why.'
The marketing and communications chair for the LGBTQ+ Health Care Conference could not be reached for comment. Indiana University and the IU School of Medicine did not respond to a request for comment.
Reach Brian Rosenzweig [e-mail].