In spite of President Donald Trump‘s anti-DE I professional purchases, a statement from an education watchdog group found that more than 350 colleges have continued to implement diversity, equity, and inclusion programs, with many avoiding outcomes by rebranding applications with other language.
According to the Defending Education report, there are a total of 376 institutions, colleges, and universities with lively DEI practices and programs. Sixty-six of these establishments reportedly changed their names or renamed themselves in order to comply with the new regulations imposed by the Trump administration.
We say to DEI agitprops at federally funded organizations,” We see you. Any attempt to conceal race discrimination will be exposed, according to Defending Education Vice President Sarah Parshall Perry in a statement.
We know where they’re hiding, she continued, but too many institutions of higher education have sought to give their race essentialism beneath by renaming or reorganizing race-based activities and DEI offices, despite an unambiguous order from the White House to stop” DEI” techniques. ” We will continue to work as long as we need to end race discrimination in American education,” the statement read.
According to Defending Education, institutions have used nine of the key phrases and expressions to conceal their DEI efforts. Access, advocacy, belonging, community, compliance, inclusive excellence, institutional excellence, resilience, and success are some of the words used.
For instance, it appears that the University of Georgia changed the name of its Office of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion to Office of Inclusion and Belonging. The updated description of the UGA office states that it honors its namesake,” Mary Frances Early, by building a community of inclusion and belonging: one where every member can succeed, is admired for the unique experiences they bring, and feels safe showing up authentically.”
Kansas State University changed the name of its Office of Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Belonging to Office of Access and Opportunity in a similar playbook.  ,  ,
Other colleges have done the same, including the University of Michigan, which has oversaw the overarching Office of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion. However, some colleges, like the University of Michigan Law and the LSA Department of Psychology, still have active DEI or DEI-adjacent pages.  ,
Only 16 organizations have removed the pages for their DEI offices, according to Defending Education.
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Trump signed an executive order last month that would have prohibited federal funding from going to institutions that promoted DEI or “gender ideology.” After continuing to allow transgender athletes to compete in girls sports, the Trump administration initiated the process by pulling funding from Maine’s Department of Education.  ,  ,
Florida has also backed the Trump administration’s efforts. Schools were warned by the state’s attorney general that” some free speech rights” won’t protect them from lawsuits if they support DEI programs.
