(The Center Square) – Michigan State University intends to continue its diversity, equity, and inclusion programs while the University of Arizona and Pennsylvania’s higher education system are each monitoring President Donald Trump’s executive order seeking to end DEI on college campuses and elsewhere.
Trump’s Jan. 20 executive order entitled “Ending Radical and Wasteful Government DEI Programs and Preferencing” calls for the “termination of all discriminatory programs, including illegal DEI and ‘diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility’ (DEIA) mandates, policies, programs, preferences, and activities in the Federal Government, under whatever name they appear.”
Schools across the nation have been reviewing the order, as The Center Square previously reported.
When asked for its response to the order, Michigan State University media and public information communication manager Mark Bullion told The Center Square that MSU “feels confident we are continuing to operate within federal and state laws in the way we educate students, hire new employees and ongoing support for multiple stakeholders.”
Michigan’s Office for Institutional Diversity and Inclusion is still in operation as observed on its website. The office’s services include Gender Inclusive Housing; Undocumented Student Resources; and Residence Education and Housing Services Diversity, Equity and Inclusion.
“The Dear Colleague letter recently shared by the Department of Education references that ‘all students are entitled to a school environment free from discrimination,’” Mark Bullion told The Center Square, referencing the department’s Feb. 14 letter calling for the end of race-based decisions in education, or risk losing federal funding.
Bullion said that “MSU agrees with that statement and has been operating in and will continue to operate with that guidance.”
Senior director of strategic initiatives at the University of Arizona Mitch Zak referred The Center Square to Arizona’s “Updates on the Federal Landscape” webpage when reached for comment on the school’s response to Trump’s executive order.
“University of Arizona leaders are monitoring the changing federal landscape and assessing the impact of the federal updates on our operations, research activities, and our faculty, staff and students,” the webpage states.
The university is creating “an inventory of our Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Accessibility (DEIA)-related programs, jobs and activities,” according to the webpage.
Arizona recently removed from its land acknowledgement that it is “committed to diversity and inclusion” and took down its websites for the Office of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion and the Cultural and Resource Centers, the Arizona Daily Star reported.
When reached for comment on its response to Trump’s DEI-banning executive order, Pennsylvania Western University, California referred The Center Square to Pennsylvania’s State System of Higher Education (PASSHE).
“The State System continually reviews all programs to ensure compliance with the law,” PASSHE director of media relations Kevin Hensil told The Center Square.
“We are working with our legal counsel to monitor executive orders and additional guidance that may – or may not—impact our universities,” Hensil said. “That process is still in the early stages, and we will follow the law.”
“As public universities, PASSHE has a unique role of serving students from every county in Pennsylvania,” Hensil said.
“All PASSHE universities remain committed to providing students with welcoming campuses and a high-quality education,” Hensil said.
Currently, PennWest California still offers a certificate in Diversity and Multicultural Competence, as stated on its website.
Columbia assistant director of media relations Millie Wert referred The Center Square to a “University statements page for latest updates and public statements on ongoing issues,” after the school was reached again for comment.
On the webpage, there is no statement concerning Trump’s executive order. However, Columbia recently removed DEI policy language on several of its websites and shut down a few DEI webpages, student newspaper The Columbia Daily Spectator reported.
Ohio State announced the closure of its Office of Diversity and Inclusion last week, The Center Square previously reported.
The University of Michigan, the University of Washington, the University of California, and Cornell previously told The Center Square they were evaluating, reviewing, or monitoring the executive order, with no new updates given when reached again.
University of Washington Medicine spokeswoman Susan Gregg told The Center Square that there are no new updates to her previous comment that UW Medicine is in compliance with all state and federal laws, and that it continues to provide its “full spectrum of services.”
Brown previously referred The Center Square to a message saying the school is evaluating “all federal activity related to higher education.”
Case Western Reserve, UC Irvine School of Medicine, Johns Hopkins University, and NYU each previously stated they had no comment regarding their respective responses to the order, with UC Irvine SOM saying it may have more information “as we learn more.” None of the schools provided updates to their responses when reached.
The following schools have not yet provided comment after repeated requests concerning their individual responses to the executive order:
HarvardStanfordDukeYalePennNorthwestern UniversityThe University of ChicagoBoston UniversityEmory UniversityMayo Clinic School of MedicineUC San DiegoIndiana UniversityThe University of PittsburghCommunity College of Allegheny CountySlippery Rock University
