‘MISSION-CRITICAL’: Law professors band together to write memo calling on schools to disobey Trump anti-DEI executive order
DEI programs ‘cultivate more diverse, equitable, and inclusive institutions,’ according to the memo signers.
One of the signers called DEI ‘mission-critical’ and blamed the Trump administration of ‘marshaling dangerous and deeply troubling narratives.’
Law professors from several different universities banded together to write a memo calling Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) “mission critical” and urging schools to not follow President Donald Trump’s anti-DEI directives.
The memo, issued on Feb. 20, was signed by law professors from the University of California, Berkeley, New York University, University of Washington, and Boston University, to name several.
The professors see DEI positively, claiming such initiatives “cultivate more diverse, equitable, and inclusive institutions,” and allege 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.’”
[RELATED: Dept of Ed scraps $15 million in funding of DEI-based grants at three universities]
A Department of Education official also sent a “Dear Colleague” letter warning schools that receive federal funding to cease and desist from promoting DEI.
The memo goes on to explain why universities that receive federal taxpayer dollars can continue promoting DEI programs and initiatives while supposedly still remaining within the bounds of the law.
It asserts, for example, that “nothing about African American Studies, Gender Studies, Jewish Studies, Chicana/o Studies, Asian American Studies, Indigenous Studies, Russian Studies, or any other field, program or academic department focused on a particular group runs afoul of” President Trump’s executive order.
The memo concludes that “DEI initiatives that do not employ racial classifications or otherwise limit opportunity to individuals from certain racial groups remain legally secure,” and accuses President Trump of wanting to “dismantle our civil rights infrastructures and erode the autonomy and independence of institutions of higher education.” It accordingly calls on university leaders to not “sacrifice essential and legally defensible DEI initiatives.”
Opponents of DEI, however, claim that the ideology does indeed restrict opportunities to those “from certain racial groups,” limits freedom of speech, and sacrifices academic excellence in the service of political goals.
Several schools have faced lawsuits over their shutting out of qualified applicants for certain programs because they were not the right race to be considered. Such programs focus on admitting applicants on the basis of DEI characteristics.
DEI has also faced criticism for doing little to nothing to stop anti-Semitism during the 2024 campus protests, despite proponents of the ideology claiming that it promotes “inclusion.”
One DEI staffer at the University of Michigan, Rachel Lawson, was even fired after she had allegedly claimed that her school is “controlled by wealthy Jews.”
Despite such criticisms, Jonathan Feingold, a Boston University professor and one of the signers of the memo, defended DEI in an interview with WBEZ Chicago.
Feingold called the “Dear Colleague” letter grotesque, blamed the Trump administration of “marshaling dangerous and deeply troubling narratives,” and claimed that American society is, “in many ways, dominated by racism and sexism.”
DEI, Feingold asserted, is “mission-critical.” He added that what “motivated the memo” was the trend of many universities following suit with Trump’s executive order and removing DEI programs and initiatives.
Campus Reform has reached out to Feingold for comment. This article will be updated accordingly.
