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Spokesperson says university wants to ensure low-income students, those with disabilities aren’t left out

The University of Missouri is working to bring more “diversity” into study abroad programs, including students from low-income families and individuals with disabilities, through a new federally funded grant.

The grant will be used to “develop a Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) Global Advisers Immersion Program” to include more underrepresented students in study abroad programs at the public university, according to a news release.

The news of the grant was announced just a few days after Mizzou’s decision to dissolve its Inclusion, Diversity and Equity Division. However, the university had to apply for the grant by December 2023, more than six months prior to its decision.

“The fact that we decided to eliminate that division really doesn’t have much of a bearing on this particular program,” university spokesperson Christopher Ave told The College Fix via phone call. “The way that we’re going to spend the money on the grant is the same.”

However, the grant will no longer be used for Inclusion, Diversity and Equity Division staff training, as initially planned, Ave said.

The university plans “to work with advisors who directly already are working with students who are traditionally underrepresented in study abroad programs. This is not necessarily racial or ethnic,” Ave said. “This is among the kinds of students who are underrepresented in international study.”

Ave listed underrepresented students as — but not limited to — first generation students, low-income students, students with disabilities, veterans, students of a racial or ethnic minority, and LGBTQ+ students.

“So all of these students, for different reasons, have been historically hesitant to sign up for study abroad. I mean, when you look at it, the students who come from economically difficult backgrounds, they may not even think that this program is for them because they can’t afford it,” Ave told The Fix.

The grant comes from the Increase and Diversify Education Abroad for U.S. Students Program through the Department of State.

The program provides universities with funds to train study abroad faculty and staff, create new international partnerships, and create resources for students, according to a news release.

The department recently gave 37 grants adding up to $1.3 million recently to private and public colleges and universities across the nation. Mizzou’s grant totaled $34,748, according to the department.

Ave told The Fix the university already has been doing something similar with its Global Advisors Immersion Program.

“The idea is to let [study abroad advisors] become familiar with the different study abroad program models, give them a first-hand perspective on the particular countries, academic and co-curricular opportunities that students could take advantage of, and to become more familiar with the student services that we have in these countries,” Ave said.

“To mainly get a better understanding of how the study abroad experience enhances academic persistence through degree completion, and career readiness. That’s our program,” he said.

He said the IDEAS grant will allow Mizzou to broaden its study abroad program to students that are traditionally absent from such opportunities.

“It’s incumbent on us to make sure that we let all of our students understand the opportunities for scholarships and the opportunities for work-study programs, and the different kinds of things they can pursue and get in order to make this happen,” Ave told The Fix.

MORE: Mizzou–which spawned modern campus racial protests–to close its DEI office

Meanwhile, Mizzou is in the process of cutting its Inclusion, Diversity and Equity programs, a decision it announced in late July. This includes the Gaines-Oldham Black Culture Center, the Women’s Center, the LGBTQ+ Center, the Relationship and Sexual Violence Prevention Center, and the Multicultural Center.

Ave said the programs for students will be relocated to the Student Center, and programs for staff to the Provost Office.

Additionally, Inclusion, Diversity and Equity Vice Chancellor Maurice Gibson is leaving to take on a job as interim president at Philander Smith University in Arkansas. Gibson’s position will not be filled.

Mizzou President Mun Choi told reporters in July that no other IDE employees will lose their jobs in the division’s removal, the Missouri Independent reported at the time.

The cut came as state lawmakers consider a bill to ban diversity, equity, and inclusion statements in enrollment and hiring practices at public universities.

Rep. Ben Brown, the Republican lead sponsor, celebrated the Mizzou’s DEI cuts in a statement on X in July.

“I applaud President Mun Choi and the @Mizzou Board of Curators for eliminating the campus DEI division. Universities should be focused on teaching and pushing students to be their best instead of wasting resources pushing divisive DEI policies,” Brown wrote.

His office did not respond to several emailed requests for comment from The Fix, asking about the Mizzou grant and DEI in higher education.

Other Republican politicians, including Reps. Bishop Davidson and Chris Lonsdale and Sen. Mary Elizabeth Coleman, also did not respond to The Fix‘s emailed requests for comment.

While President Choi has recognized the tensions against DEI, Ave told The Fix there was no connection between Mizzou’s removal of its IDE division and political pressure from the state legislature.

Ave told The Fix that Choi and Gibson had “been talking about how to reorganize for about six months leading up to this announcement so it’s been a topic of discussion and study for awhile. It was not a reaction to any one development.”

MORE: Mizzou students protest university’s decision to end gender-transition treatments for minors

IMAGE: University of Missouri

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