University of Kentucky to disband diversity office after GOP lawmakers pushed anti-DEI legislation
The University of Kentucky will disband its department that promotes diversity and inclusion in response to concerns from policymakers that its focus on identity has stifled political discussions, its president said Tuesday.
The action on the Lexington, Kentucky campus comes after state legislators debated or whether diversity, equity and inclusion practices at public universities should be limited. Republican supermajorities in the Kentucky House of Representatives and Senate were unable to resolve differences on the issue before this year’s session ended in April, but the issue is expected to resurface when lawmakers reconvene early next year.
In the school’s preventive action, units housed in the shuttered Office for Institutional Diversity will be relocated elsewhere on campus, including a newly created Office for Community Relations, UK President Eli Capilouto said in a campus-wide email. The restructuring will not result in any job losses, he said.
Capilouto stressed that the school’s core values remain intact: protecting academic freedom and fostering a “sense of belonging” for everyone on campus, regardless of background or perspective.
“But we’ve also listened to policymakers and heard a lot of their questions about whether we seem partisan or political on the issues of our time and, as a result, interpret things only through the lens of identity,” the campus president said. “As a result, there’s a concern that we’re intentionally or unintentionally limiting the discourse. I hear a lot of those concerns echoed in discussions with some of our students, faculty and staff across our campus.”
Universities in other states face similar problems, he noted.
University of Nebraska-Lincoln President Rodney Bennett announced plans Tuesday to disband the school’s Office of Diversity and Inclusion.
“I fully understand the weight of this decision and its implications, but a centralized approach to this work is no longer appropriate for our institution,” Bennett said in a public letter.
Bennett said he is dividing the task of “supporting and building a sense of community and belonging” among several other offices.
“It is the responsibility of each of us to create a welcoming environment for all members of our community,” he said.
Nebraska lawmakers attempted to ban diversity, equity and inclusion efforts at state colleges and universities this year. The bills failed to pass after dozens of critics testified against the proposals.
The quest to limit DEI initiatives got momentum this year in several red-state statehouses. For example, the Republican-led Iowa Legislature passed a budget bill that would ban all DEI offices and initiatives in higher education that aren’t needed to comply with accreditation or federal law.
Republican lawmakers in Missouri have introduced numerous bills aimed at “diversity, equity and inclusion” initiatives in higher education and state government. Although the legislation has not passed, the efforts have put pressure on institutions to make changes. The University of Missouri recently announced that it is disbanding its Division of Inclusion, Diversity and Equity and redistributing its staff to other departments.
In Kentucky, GOP lawmakers at the forefront of the DEI debate said Tuesday they applauded UK’s action and urged other public universities to take similar steps.
“A true elimination of these DEI policies at our public universities will end the divisiveness they foster and restore our colleges and universities to be the true bastion of free thought we need,” Republican Sen. Mike Wilson said in a statement.
Opponents of Kentucky’s anti-DEI laws warned that the restrictions on campuses could undermine growth in minority enrollment and undermine campus discussions about past discrimination.
On its website, the UK Office for Institutional Diversity said its mission was to “increase the diversity and inclusiveness of our university community through the recruitment and retention of an increasingly diverse population.” It said initiatives that promote diversity-related experiences can help ensure success in an “interconnected world.”
In outlining the restructuring at UK, the university will not mandate centralized diversity training at the faculty or unit level, Capilouto said. It will not place required diversity statements in recruitment and application processes, he said, and websites will be free of political views to ensure impartiality.
“This should in no way be seen as an infringement on academic freedom,” the UK president added. “Faculty decide what to teach as part of formal education and where discovery should take them as scholars in their fields.”
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David Lieb, an Associated Press editor in Jefferson City, Missouri, contributed to this report.