University of Michigan ends DEI office, cracks down on $250M DEI campaign after string of controversies
The school will ‘shift resources to increase investments in student-facing programs, such as financial aid, mental health resources, pre-professional counseling and other efforts.’
The decision comes after the University of Michigan drew criticism for the large amount of money it spent on DEI, as well as the behavior of some of its DEI officials.
The University of Michigan has announced significant cuts to its $250 million Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) initiatives, including abolishing its DEI office, following a string of controversies surrounding the school’s promotion of the ideology.
The university announced on Thursday that it would immediately shutter its “Office of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion and the Office for Health Equity and Inclusion” and end the “DEI 2.0 Strategic Plan.”
The school administration will now “shift resources to increase investments in student-facing programs, such as financial aid, mental health resources, pre-professional counseling and other efforts.”
The University of Michigan leadership announced that “These decisions have not been made lightly,” and further outlined that, among other changes, “The decision to end the use of diversity statements in faculty hiring, which was made earlier this academic year, will be applied universitywide,” and that such DEI statements “will no longer be solicited or considered in admissions, hiring, promotion, awards, annual reviews or other assessments for faculty and staff. ”
The move comes after the university announced on Oct. 9, 2023 a new “DEI 2.0 Plan,” which was meant to last for five years but has now ended after less than two. That plan included initiatives to “enhance diversity, equity and inclusion in biomedical and health sciences by recruiting 30 new tenure-track assistant professors” and to “produce equitable opportunities for access, success and a sense of belonging for Black students, in particular.”
Campus Reform has covered several controversies that the University of Michigan’s DEI program provoked.
In December, the university fired a DEI staffer, Rachel Dawson, who was accused of making anti-Semitic remarks, such as claiming that the school is “controlled by wealthy Jews,” saying Jewish students are “wealthy and privileged,” and asserting that “Jewish people have no genetic DNA that would connect them to the land of Israel.”
Also in December, the school’s DEI office defended the term “woke” in an Instagram post, writing: “MYTH: ‘Being woke limits free speech.’ FACT: ‘Woke’ means being aware and attentive, not limiting speech.”
In November, Kevin Cokley, a DEI official at the university, criticized those who claim that DEI has proven counterproductive for the black community members that it’s supposed to benefit, writing that “using Black students to criticize and ultimately undermine DEI efforts is operating in bad faith.”
He conceded to Campus Reform at the time that not all opponents of DEI have “bad faith,” stating: “Yes, there are some Black individuals who are underwhelmed by DEI because of the slow nature of progress that has been made for Black students. These individuals are not motivated by bad faith because they have demonstrated their genuine concern about the welfare of Black students through their words and actions.”
In October, Campus Reform wrote that botanists from the University of Michigan had previously suggested that using scientific Latin terms for plants could promote racism.
In September, Campus Reform reported that the university decided to spend almost $500,000 to promote “anti-racism” research.
An October New York Times article revealed that the school spent almost $250 million on its DEI campaigns and initiatives, which ended up being counterproductive and failed to promote harmony on campus.
The University of Michigan’s DEI cuts come at a time when President Donald Trump, as well as many individual states, are pursuing a campaign against the ideology, which they claim promotes division and hostility.
In a statement given to Campus Reform, Kay Jarvis, Director of Public Affairs, said: “The University of Michigan is moving forward with important changes to our diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) programs.” She also confirmed the changes to DEI mentioned above.
Campus Reform has reached out to the University of Michigan for comment. This article will be updated accordingly.
