VCU shuts down 'Division of Inclusive Excellence'
Virginia Commonwealth University has decided to eliminate a DEI (Diversity, Equity and Inclusion) office following directions from the federal government against DEI policies and practices.
Specifically, the VCU Board of Visitors voted to eliminate its 'Division of Inclusive Excellence' on March 21.
Virginia Commonwealth University in Richmond recently decided to eliminate a DEI (Diversity, Equity and Inclusion) office following directions from the federal government against DEI policies and practices.
Specifically, the school’s Board of Visitors voted to eliminate its “Division of Inclusive Excellence” on March 21. The school will also “transfer permissible programs from the University’s Division of Inclusive Excellence to a new organizational home,” according to the board’s resolution.
Despite eliminating its DEI office, the Virginia Commonwealth University Board of Visitors asserted that the “mission” of the school will not alter, despite the change in the federal government’s directives.
“VCU’s commitment to embracing different backgrounds and perspectives is not defined by any one department — it is a core value woven into the fabric of the entire institution,” school officials said in a statement that same day.
“As we have shared before, following federal and state laws and supporting all members of our university community are not mutually exclusive,” the university officials continued. “Who we are at VCU does not change. Our mission does not change.”
The university attributes the change to a Feb. 28 message sent by the Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights on “Frequently Asked Questions About Racial Preferences and Stereotypes Under Title VI of the Civil Rights Act.”
Not all students at the university were pleased with the decision to remove DEI.
“These are things that were put in place for a reason — and they were helpful for a reason,” said a sophomore at the school, according to ABC8. “It’s just like a scary time, and things are so uncertain.”
The student continued to say that Virginia Commonwealth University “promoted” diversity as part of its “brand.”
The school’s move away from DEI also follows another announcement in February by the Department of Education about a federal crackdown on DEI policies.
According to the department, DEI policies have been used to smuggle “racial stereotypes and explicit race-consciousness into everyday training, programming, and discipline.”
“But under any banner, discrimination on the basis of race, color, or national origin is, has been, and will continue to be illegal,” the notice continued, before explaining that universities will potentially lose federal funding if they retain DEI programs.
Since the notice, many schools have begun eliminating DEI programs, including the Universities of Virginia, Cincinnati, the Southern California, and Northwestern.
Campus Reform has contacted Virginia Commonwealth University for comment. This article will be updated accordingly.
