Latest news with #DEI2.0StrategicPlan
Axios
08-05-2025
- Business
- Axios
U of M president Santa Ono leaving for Florida
U of M president Santa Ono is leaving Ann Arbor after less than three years to lead the University of Florida, he wrote Sunday in an email to the U of M community. The big picture: Ono's departure comes as academic institutions around the country confront President Trump's agenda to influence and revamp the priorities at elite institutions. What they're saying: Ono focused on the university's accomplishments, such as its $1.2 billion AI research ecosystem, in his campuswide email. "Serving as your president over these past three academic years has been a distinct honor," he wrote. "Every day, I have been inspired beyond words by the vibrancy, brilliance, and dedication of our faculty, staff, students, and alumni." Flashback: Ono became U of M's 15th president in October 2022. He was previously president and vice chancellor of the University of British Columbia and president and provost of the University of Cincinnati. State of play: U of M announced the closure of its diversity, equity and inclusion office in March, along with the discontinuation of its DEI 2.0 Strategic Plan, after receiving executive orders and federal guidance criticizing DEI programs.
USA Today
04-04-2025
- Politics
- USA Today
Let DEI die: Trump's playing hardball, and colleges are smart to fall in line
Money talks. That's the message coming loud and clear from the country's universities, as they respond to demands from the Trump administration to strip 'diversity, equity and inclusion' efforts and antisemitism from their campuses. College administrators who might otherwise have rolled their eyes at such demands are paying attention now that their federal funding – provided by taxpayers – is on the line. It's great to see. Without forced DEI, true diversity can flourish Last week, the University of Michigan announced it will shut down its Office of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion and the Office for Health Equity and Inclusion and halt its DEI 2.0 Strategic Plan. It joins other schools, including Ohio State University, that are making wholesale DEI changes. Need a break? Play the USA TODAY Daily Crossword Puzzle. The Michigan university has been ground zero for DEI efforts in recent years, with a burgeoning bureaucracy that had reached more than 160 employees at a cost of a quarter of a billion dollars. And did that spending help improve diversity or inclusion? No. If anything, DEI's explosion at the University of Michigan and on campuses nationwide has led to more division through polarization. It also has been linked to the antisemitic protests and violence at universities after Hamas' terrorist attack against Israel on Oct. 7, 2023. Since the beginning of President Donald Trump's second term, he has put schools on notice through executive actions that he expects them to quash both DEI and antisemitism – or face cuts to spending. The federal government spends tens of billions a year on federal education, through loans and grants, as well as research funding and other programs. Trump's actions follow years of pushback from Republicans at the state level to rid schools of DEI programs. But the number of colleges now falling in line is rising quickly, thanks to Trump's hardline approach. Dozens of universities in a majority of states have cut or made other changes to their diversity policies, according to a tracker from the Chronicle of Higher Education. Sarah Hubbard, a regent at the University of Michigan, understands why it is important for her university and others to backtrack on DEI. Hubbard is a Republican, which makes her something of a unicorn on the state's Democrat-dominated public university boards. On social media, she correctly observed that ending DEI programs will help the university 'better expand diversity of thought and free speech on our campus.' 'The end of litmus test hiring and curtailment of speech stops now,' Hubbard wrote. Want to ignore Trump? Plan on kissing federal money goodbye. While some universities are looking for ways to skirt wholesale reforms with nominative changes to existing programs, it's encouraging to see so many willing to take substantive action. The Trump administration has shown it's not messing around if college administrators don't take its demands seriously. In March, the administration announced it was withholding $400 million in funds from Columbia University, given the university's pathetic response to antisemitic displays that led to the harassment of Jewish faculty and students. Late last month, in a move that surprised many on campus and led to the resignation of Columbia's interim president, the university agreed to strengthen its security and protest policies, among other changes. The University of Pennsylvania also faces a cut of $175 million, because of its transgender sports policies that conflict with Trump's executive order protecting women's sports. Of course, it's possible for any administration to take things too far, and Trump's team must be careful to avoid demands or restrictions that would interfere with classroom instruction or other free speech. Meanwhile, I'm enjoying watching DEI die. Ingrid Jacques is a columnist at USA TODAY. Contact her at ijacques@ or on X: @Ingrid_Jacques
Yahoo
28-03-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
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. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX
Yahoo
28-03-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
University of Michigan closes DEI office
The University of Michigan said it would close their diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) office on Thursday in an effort to comply with President Trump's executive order outlawing the practice. 'These decisions have not been made lightly,' the announcement from top university officials reads. '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.' The memo was signed by university President Santa J. Ono; Laurie K. McCauley, provost and executive vice president; Marschall S. Runge, executive vice president for medical affairs; and Geoffrey S. Chatas, executive vice president and chief financial officer. In addition to the closure of their DEI office, the school will also terminate the Office for Health Equity and Inclusion and discontinue their DEI 2.0 Strategic Plan despite success rates, according to the release. The move follows the university's decision late last year to no longer require diversity statements for faculty hiring, promotion or tenure. The Supreme Court also issued a decision in 2023 limiting the use of race as a factor in admissions, upending decades of affirmative action programs used by U.S. institutions. The latest statistics from the University of Michigan show DEI programs boosted first-generation undergraduate enrollment by 46 percent while documenting an increase in undergraduate Pell recipients by more than 32 percent, per the memo. 'We have also heard concerns about the balance of resources between administration and direct student support,' the message from campus leadership said. 'Some in our campus community have voiced frustration that they did not feel included in DEI initiatives and that the programming fell short in fostering connections among diverse groups.' In 2021, the Heritage Foundation reported the University of Michigan had the most DEI staff members in the nation, with 163 employees. Their decision comes after the Education Department earlier this year sent a 'Dear Colleague' letter to universities warning them of funding cuts if they did not shut down DEI programs. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
The Hill
28-03-2025
- Politics
- The Hill
University of Michigan closes DEI office
The University of Michigan said it would close their diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) office on Thursday in an effort to comply with President Trump's executive order outlawing the practice. 'These decisions have not been made lightly,' the announcement from top university officials reads. '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.' The memo was signed by university President Santa J. Ono; Laurie K. McCauley, provost and executive vice president; Marschall S. Runge, executive vice president for medical affairs; and Geoffrey S. Chatas, executive vice president and chief financial officer. In addition to the closure of their DEI office, the school will also terminate the Office for Health Equity and Inclusion and discontinue their DEI 2.0 Strategic Plan despite success rates, according to the release. The move follows the university's decision late last year to no longer require diversity statements for faculty hiring, promotion or tenure. The Supreme Court also issued a decision in 2023 limiting the use of race as a factor in admissions, upending decades of affirmative action programs used by U.S. institutions. The latest statistics from the University of Michigan show DEI programs boosted first-generation undergraduate enrollment by 46 percent while documenting an increase in undergraduate Pell recipients have increased by more than 32 percent, per the memo. 'We have also heard concerns about the balance of resources between administration and direct student support,' the message from campus leadership said. 'Some in our campus community have voiced frustration that they did not feel included in DEI initiatives and that the programming fell short in fostering connections among diverse groups.' In 2021, the Heritage Foundation reported the University of Michigan had the most DEI staff members in the nation, with 163 employees. Their decision comes after the Education Department earlier this year sent a 'Dear Colleague' letter to universities warning them of funding cuts if they did not shut down DEI programs.
