With the start of the new academic year, it is a good time for an update on the continuing changes in DEI in higher education. With so much pressure at the federal level to end all DEI activity, responses have included the cancelation of programs; loss of grants and staffing; changes to language in documents and on websites; and pushing back against efforts by some to marginalize justice, equity, diversity, and inclusion. While we are all aware of the many changes in federal policy and support, the nature of the pressure on DEI to simply make it disappear makes it difficult to fully assess the scope. The full impact of these actions will only be understood in retrospect. However, until the voices being hidden are made known again, all of us can help support and encourage the people in our own networks.
In several instances, universities have chosen to simply close DEI programs and lay off staff. Several have been built over decades, evolving through stages as intercultural programs and student success centers targeting specific groups. In some cases, the history of organizations that closed can offer insights into how they could be reestablished without running into the new policy that led to the closure.
Many colleges and universities have rewritten mission statements and dropped curriculum requirements that could be tied to DEI activities. However, at the same time, we are seeing an increase in interest in the inclusion of ethics content and even whole courses on ethical best practices in statistics and data science programs, just as is done in many other programs from law, medicine, and business, just to name a few. Basic concepts of fairness intrinsic to education in ethical practice can help replace content lost elsewhere.
It should also be remembered that these policies are financially disastrous. It is well documented that companies with a diverse employee and management staff tend to be more financially successful. As this administration has often been receptive to financial arguments, re-casting previous programs and business success could allow education to meet with more approval and less suspicion.
Much of the pressure on university diversity programs is due to a short list of keywords. As a result, rebranding has been one avenue for protecting an organization with fewer changes to their core mission and programming. Focusing naming practices on the core benefits provided to the students can help. Instead of using noun-driven descriptions, which focus on the groups needing support, action-driven descriptions such as “student success” or “engagement” can help clarify and strengthen the program’s mission. For example, DePaul University recently created a “Belonging, Engagement, and Mission” (BEAM) program. It will be necessary to carry this practice through on website content, in public communications such as brochures and recruiting materials, and in presentations at conferences and to other organizations.
Several organizations in higher education have been questioning the legality of these new policies and are helping colleges and universities develop a response. The American Association of University Professors is the plaintiff in a case challenging executive orders trying to ban DEI programs. Other leaders in this space are the Bowman Center for Scholarship to Practice and the University of Michigan. With a stated mission to “create, catalyze, and communicate scholarship that educates and informs about inequality and justice,” scholars at the Bowman Center advise colleges and universities to work together to challenge administration actions that exceed legal limits. These are just two examples among many; the key message is that colleges and professors are working together to push back on anti-DEI actions where they exceed legal authority.
In all these efforts to respond to the challenging environment in higher education today, key points to keep in mind are collaboration with other colleges and universities, careful preservation of data, and identifying legal avenues in cases of executive over-reach. Save what can be preserved, focus on the factors driving student success, and lay the groundwork for the future.
David Corliss
With a PhD in statistical astrophysics, David Corliss works as a data scientist in industry. He serves on the ASA Board as a Council of Chapters representative and is the founder of Peace-Work, a data for good nongovernmental organization.
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