University of Kentucky to Disband Diversity Office After GOP Lawmakers Pass Anti-DEI Bill

The University of Kentucky will disband an office promoting diversity and inclusion, the president of the University of Kentucky said Tuesday, in response to concerns from lawmakers that a deal with identity is stifling political discussion.

The motion on the campus in Lexington, Kentucky, comes after state lawmakers debated restricting diversity, equity and inclusion practices at public universities. Republican supermajorities within the Kentucky House and Senate were unable to resolve their differences on the problem before this yr’s session ends in April, but the problem is predicted to come up again when lawmakers meet again early next yr.

As part of the varsity’s precautionary measures, units housed within the shuttered Office of Institutional Diversity will likely be relocated elsewhere on campus, including to a newly created Office of Community Relations, UK President Eli Capilouto said in a campus-wide email. The restructuring won’t end in job losses, he said.

Capilouto emphasized that the varsity’s core values ​​remain intact — protecting academic freedom and promoting a “sense of belonging” for all people on campus, regardless of background or beliefs.

“But we’ve also listened to policymakers and heard a lot of questions about whether we seem partisan or political about the issues of our time and, as a result, narrowly interpret things solely through the lens of identity,” the campus president said. “In doing so, we’re concerned that we’re either intentionally or unintentionally limiting the discourse. I hear a lot of those concerns reflected in discussions with some of our students, faculty and staff on campus.”

He noted that universities in other states were grappling with similar problems.

University of Nebraska-Lincoln Chancellor Rodney Bennett announced plans Tuesday to disband the Office of Diversity and Inclusion. Bennett was hired last yr and is the primary Black person to lead Nebraska’s flagship public university campus.

“I fully understand the gravity of this decision and its implications, but a centralized approach to this work is no longer appropriate for our institution,” Bennett said in a public letter.

Bennett said he divides the duty of “supporting and building a sense of community and belonging” amongst several other offices.

“It is the responsibility of each of us to create a welcoming environment for all members of our community,” he said.

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Bennett’s statement appears to contradict the University of Nebraska system’s position from just just a few months ago during testimony on a bill that will ban diversity, equity and inclusion efforts at Nebraska state colleges and universities. The system’s interim chancellor, Chris Kabourek, testified against the bill.

“We are concerned about how this bill will impact our ability to compete for students, faculty and staff,” Kabourek told lawmakers. “I think we all value diversity and the benefits of being welcoming. That is certainly the type of environment we strive for and want to create on our campuses.”

A Nebraska bill failed to pass despite the fact that dozens of critics opposed its proposals.

The push to curtail DEI initiatives has gained momentum this yr in lots of Republican-leaning states. For example, the Republican-led Iowa Legislature approved a spending bill that will ban all DEI offices and initiatives in higher education that are usually not needed to comply with accreditation or federal law.

Republican lawmakers in Missouri have proposed quite a few bills aimed toward “diversity, equity, and inclusion” initiatives in higher education and state government. Although the laws has not passed, the efforts have put pressure on institutions to make changes. The University of Missouri recently announced that it’s disbanding its Inclusion, Diversity, and Equity department and redistributing staff to other departments.

In Kentucky, GOP lawmakers who’ve been on the forefront of the DEI debate said Tuesday they welcome UK’s actions and called on other public universities to take similar steps.

“Truely eliminating these DEI policies at our public universities will end the division they promote and allow our colleges and universities to become the true bastions of free thought we need,” Republican state Sen. Mike Wilson said in an announcement.

Opponents of Kentucky’s anti-DEI bills warned that the restrictions could undermine growth in minority student enrollment and stifle campus discussions about past discrimination.

On its website, the UK Office for Institutional Diversity says its mission is to “increase the diversity and inclusiveness of our university community by recruiting and retaining an increasingly diverse population”. It says initiatives that promote diversity experiences might help ensure success in a “connected world”.

Under the UK restructuring, the university won’t mandate centralized diversity training at the faculty or unit level, Capilouto said. It won’t include required diversity statements in its admissions and application processes, he said, and its web sites will likely be free of political positions to ensure impartiality.

“In no way should this be interpreted as an infringement on academic freedom,” the UK president added. “Faculty decide what to teach in their formal education and where their discoveries should take them as researchers in their fields of expertise.”