Five major DEI rollbacks reshape higher ed under state and federal pressure
Campus Reform highlights five pillars of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) that have been dismantled on campuses in response to anti-DEI state and federal directives.
Following executive action under the Trump administration and a wave of state laws targeting diversity mandates, colleges and universities nationwide are rolling back Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) programs.
From faculty hiring to course curriculum, Trump‑era directives and state-level bans have compelled significant reductions in DEI infrastructure on campus, showcasing a shift toward merit-based higher education.
Here are five major ways DEI has been dismantled in higher education:
1. DEI Removed from Curricula and Course Requirements
Universities have revised course catalogs and degree plans to strip away DEI-related requirements and language, citing the risk of federal funding cuts.
The University of North Carolina system suspended all general education and major-specific course requirements tied to DEI following a Trump executive order, stating that federal dollars would be jeopardized if the courses continued.
One month after the presidential election, the University of North Texas removed DEI terminology from nearly 80 courses, revising descriptions to comply with new state and federal expectations.
2. Administrative DEI Offices Shut Down
Beyond coursework, DEI has faced sweeping cuts in campus administration. Universities are closing or rebranding offices once dedicated to diversity programming as they navigate legal pressure and funding threats.
Harvard Graduate School of Education closed its DEI office and eliminated its chief diversity officer amid frozen federal funding. Syracuse University shuttered its DEI office, replacing it with the “Office of People and Culture.” Cornell University renamed its DEI office to the “Office of Academic Discovery and Impact” (OADI) during negotiations with the Trump administration over the restoration of $1 billion in threatened federal funding.
Campus Reform remains vigilant in monitoring institutions that may merely be rebranding DEI offices rather than fully dismantling them. We will continue to report cases where restructured DEI offices appear to preserve their original functions under new labels.
3. Race-Based Hiring Practices Eliminated
The administration has also turned its attention to faculty hiring. Civil rights investigations have been launched into universities that used DEI criteria in hiring decisions, with consequences for those found in violation.
George Mason University in Fairfax, Virginia, was recently found by the U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights to have violated Title VI by engaging in race-based hiring. GMU is now mandated to drop discriminatory language, revise hiring materials and train staff to ensure nondiscriminatory practices.
Other universities, including the University of Michigan and the 10 campuses in the University of California system, have dropped the use of mandatory diversity statements in faculty hiring, aligning their practices with federal guidance.
4. DEI Removed from Job Titles
In addition to dropping DEI from hiring practices, universities are also removing ideological language from employee titles.
The University of Pennsylvania removed more than a dozen references to “Diversity” and “Inclusion” from job titles. Job titles like “Associate Vice Provost for University Life: Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Belonging” were rebranded with neutral alternatives, such as “Associate Vice Provost for University Life for Student Success and Engagement.” Similarly, the title “Vice Dean for Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion” was rebranded as “Vice Dean for Academic Excellence and Engagement.”
5. Staff Held Accountable for DEI Violations
Campus Reform has reported many cases of university staff caught on undercover video admitting they continue to promote DEI despite legal restrictions. Some universities have responded by terminating employees caught violating DEI bans, citing noncompliance with state or federal law.
Western Carolina University fired a university administrator after she was caught on camera saying the university had a “strategy” to “embed” DEI despite state and federal law. The school followed up by shutting down its DEI office completely.
In a similar case, the University of North Carolina at Charlotte fired an employee after she confirmed the university was continuing DEI work secretly in a recording. “We’ve renamed, we’ve reorganized, we’ve recalibrated so to speak,” she stated. The school cut ties with the employee and said her statements “do not reflect the university’s actions.”
[RELATED: Study shows widespread use of DEI statements in faculty hiring]
Last year, the University of Florida fired 13 full-time employees and ended 15 administrative appointments when it shut down its DEI office.
These developments underscore a national realignment in higher education away from race-conscious, ideologically driven initiatives and toward legally compliant, merit-based practices.
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