Missouri State slashes DEI, scrubs ‘diversity’ from faculty handbook in wake of federal and state orders
Missouri State University is removing terms like 'diversity' and 'affirmative action' from its faculty handbook to comply with an anti-DEI executive order from the Missouri governor.
The changes come after the university shut down its DEI office and ended diversity-based hiring and scholarship policies earlier this year.
Missouri State University (MSU) has removed references to Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) from its faculty handbook, signaling compliance with Governor Mike Kehoe’s executive order banning DEI mandates in public institutions.
The school specifically deleted terms such as “diversity,” “affirmative action,” and “inclusive engagement,” according to The Springfield News-Leader.
Suzanne Shaw, MSU’s vice president of marketing and communications, stated that the changes were necessary “to ensure compliance” with the governor’s directive. She added that language revisions to the university’s public affairs mission ensure alignment with MSU’s new strategic plan, which “underscores and affirms our commitment to our public affairs mission.”
The MSU Board of Governors approved the proposed changes on June 13, according to Springfield Daily Citizen, finalizing the school’s legal shift away from DEI-based practices.
Earlier this year, the university shuttered its Office of Inclusive Engagement and discontinued various DEI programs. Missouri State President Richard Williams explained in January that financial realities demanded alignment with state policy.
“As a university, we value diverse thought and actions and support all our students, faculty and staff,” Williams said. “However, 38% of our budget comes from the state. For us to continue providing a quality education to our students, we must align with the requirements laid out by state leadership.”
In addition to eliminating diversity statements and race-based scholarship requirements, the university also removed hiring policies that prioritized identity characteristics.
Campus Reform previously reported in February that dozens of students protested the policy overhaul, chanting slogans like “When students’ rights are under attack, what do we do? Stand up, fight back.”
[RELATED: George Mason University ends office for ‘Truth, Racial Healing, and Transformation’]
Missouri State joins a growing list of public universities responding to shifting legal and political pressures at both the federal and state levels. Institutions such as the University of Southern California, University of Michigan, Northwestern University, and the University of Notre Dame have also scaled back or removed references to controversial DEI policies.
Other schools, such as the University of Cincinnati and East Carolina University, recently dismantled DEI initiatives in response to legal scrutiny and executive orders targeting race- and sex-based preferences.
