Florida State pulls DEI-based terms from website to comply with Trump admin
Florida State University is deleting references to Diversity, Equity and Inclusion from its official websites by removing references to words like 'Antiracist' and 'Systemic.'
The announcement was made on March 4 by university President Richard McCullough.
Florida State University (FSU) is deleting references to Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) from its official websites by removing references to words like “Antiracist” and “Systemic.”
The announcement was made on March 4 by FSU President Richard McCullough, as noted by the Tallahassee Democrat. In the announcement, the president described that the school is updating the websites to comply with federal and state directives in order to secure government funding.
“Our leadership team has been carefully monitoring and analyzing all federal and state directives,” McCullough’s notice began. “Today I write to share how some of the new guidance may impact our university.”
[RELATED: Harvard University temporarily stops hiring after Trump targets higher ed funding]
“As you know, state and federal funding makes up a significant portion of FSU’s overall budget, and we must follow state and federal law,” McCullough continued. “Given the university’s reliance on these funds, it is necessary to take additional steps to follow the emerging guidance.”
“FSU has begun to adjust to these directives. We are making some changes to websites and communications to better reflect the institution’s compliance with these guidelines,” McCullough concluded.
If President Trump were to cancel grants to FSU, the school could lose up to $65 million in federal funding, according to the Tallahassee Democrat.
The Tallahassee Democrat reported that the school is searching for around two dozen keywords to remove from its website, including “Antiracist,” “Biases,” “Diversity,” “Ethnicity,” “Inclusion,” “Inequities,” “Oppression” and “Systemic.”
These are not the first steps that FSU has taken toward completely eliminating DEI programs and initiatives. According to The Chronicle of Higher Education, the school has already removed its Equity, Diversity and Inclusion Office and has stopped funding for “DEI organizations” and “DEI publications.”
As of publication, FSU has not pulled the words “woman” or “women” from all of its websites. For instance, the school’s Women Student Union page, which references those terms around a dozen times, remains up on the school’s website.
Campus Reform reported earlier this month that not everyone has agreed to follow President Trump’s anti-DEI executive order that he signed shortly after being sworn into office. For instance, law professors from the University of California, Berkeley, New York University, and others signed a letter in support of DEI.
The professors contended that DEI “cultivate[s] more diverse, equitable, and inclusive institutions” and that “common DEI initiatives remain legally defensible notwithstanding President Trump’s January 21, 2025 Executive Order titled ‘Ending Illegal Discrimination and Restoring Merit-Based Opportunity.’”
Campus Reform has contacted Florida State University for comment. This article will be updated accordingly.
