Colleges and universities are scrapping initiatives designed to advance diversity, equity and inclusion.
The University of Virginia is ditching DEI. Same with George Mason University, and people who work in higher ed say they're expecting more to follow suit to keep federal dollars flowing.
"There certainly is nothing wrong with trying to get people from every background into higher education," says Rich Kelsey, a former assistant dean at George Mason School of Law. "The problem is they've tried to do it irrespective of the talent, and that has become one of the issues in higher education."
That's a classic retort for anything that challenges the status quo, says Virginia Commonwealth University professor Jatia Wrighten.
"Historically, different groups have been underrepresented, or they have been purposefully excluded from access," Wrighten says. "And so whatever you’re going to call these programs, whether it be affirmative action, whether it be DEI – the underlying objective is to ensure that marginalized groups aren't being dismissed or passed over when they really should have equal access to these universities."
Last month, the new administration in Washington sent a letter to all educational institutions receiving federal funding with an ultimatum: end DEI programs or say goodbye to federal money.
This report, provided by Virginia Public Radio, was made possible with support from the Virginia Education Association.
