The College Fix

‘The DEI 2.0 Strategic Plan … will be discontinued’

The University of Michigan announced Thursday it plans to shut down its diversity, equity, and inclusion office and discontinue its DEI plan, citing “recent federal executive orders.”

The move is being hailed as a major victory for critics of DEI as the University of Michigan is known for its campuswide DEI programming, which had been embedded into all 51 units at the institution.

“Based on our assessment of input from various stakeholders regarding our DEI programs – along with recent federal actions … The Office of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (ODEI) and the Office for Health Equity and Inclusion (OHEI) will close,” states a memo to the campus community from university President Santa Ono and other campus leaders on Thursday.

“The DEI 2.0 Strategic Plan, the umbrella strategy for schools, colleges and units, will be discontinued, along with DEI 2.0 unit plans, related programming, progress reporting, training and funding,” the memo states.

The announcement follows a report on the university by The College Fix, which found that 1,100 employees at the school worked either full-time or part-time on DEI-related efforts at the public university.

It also comes in the wake of a Trump administration Office for Civil Rights “Dear Colleague letter” that argued DEI programs in higher education often discriminate based on race in violation of Title VI. The letter declared that DEI efforts are essentially discriminatory and colleges and universities could lose federal funding if they employ them.

One reported internal estimate had placed the cost of DEI spending at UMich at $250 million over the last eight or so years, yet annual student surveys have shown many of the institution’s students report feeling like they do not belong on campus.

Layoffs are expected to be in the offing, observers say.

“We are eliminating programs, eliminating affiliated staff and ending the DEI 2.0 strategy,” University of Michigan Regent Sarah Hubbard stated on X on Thursday. “Late last year we ended the use of diversity statements in faculty hiring. This is now expanded university wide and statements related to a person’s identity or commitment to DEI will no longer be solicited or considered in admissions, hiring, promotion, awards or reviews for faculty and staff.”

“… Ending DEI programs will also allow us to better expand diversity of thought and free speech on our campus,” she added.

Student-focused services currently under the Office of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion will be transferred to other offices dedicated to enhancing student opportunities, according to campus leaders. Additionally, “The Office of the General Counsel will initiate an expedited review to ensure all policies, programs and practices comply with federal law and guidance,” their memo states.

The university will simultaneously increase funding for student programs, including financial aid for families earning $125,000 or less, mental health resources, academic support with better advising and AI tools, and “cultural and ethnic events,” it adds.

“The changes happening at Michigan’s flagship are all the more striking given that there has been no state legislation requiring universities to scale back or cut their diversity efforts. In fact, this month, the Democrat-controlled Michigan Senate approved a resolution supporting policies that promote diversity, equity, and inclusion,” the Chronicle of Higher Education reported.

Conservative-leaning groups and advocates quickly praised the decision.

“UMich was considered THE DEI school, with $250 million spent since 2016. A seismic shift,” the American Council of Trustees and Alumni wrote in a post on X.

Steven McGuire, a fellow in campus freedom at the ACTA, stated, “The decision to rollback Umich’s massive diversity bureaucracy is a momentous one that will have a profound and positive impact not only in Michigan, but across American higher education.”

The Goldwater Institute’s Director of Education Policy, Matt Beienburg, stated in a news release that “the university’s actions are indeed a cause for celebration.”

However, Beienburg added “to truly restore the intellectual integrity of the university, its administrators must ensure that the institution also eliminates DEI requirements currently forced upon students throughout its mandatory academic course requirements, including those offered under different labels such as the required ‘Race and Ethnicity’ category that undergraduate students must complete.”

MORE: Pressure grows for UMich to end its failed $250 million DEI experiment

IMAGE CAPTION AND CREDIT: University of Michigan sign outside of campus; KenWolter/Shutterstock

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