University of Kansas bans pronouns from email signatures under new DEI rollback
University of Kansas (KU) employees will now be required to remove preferred pronouns from their email signatures and other official communications.
The policy change was announced in a directive sent by KU Chancellor Douglas Girod on July 22.
University of Kansas (KU) employees will now be required to remove preferred pronouns from their email signatures and other official communications.
The policy change was announced in a directive sent by KU Chancellor Douglas Girod on July 22. The reform is part of a wider effort to eliminate all Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) initiatives at public universities in the state.
In addition to eliminating DEI positions, mandates, training, and grants, Girod explained that faculty will not be allowed to have pronouns or promote “gender ideology” in their signatures.
Per the directive, faculty must “remove gender identifying pronouns or gender ideology from email signature blocks on state employee’s email accounts and any other form of communication.”
The deadline for compliance is July 31.
“All employees shall comply with this directive by removing gender-identifying pronouns and personal pronoun series from their KU email signature blocks, webpages and Zoom/Teams screen IDs, and any other form of university communications,” Girod wrote.
KU joins Wichita State University in requiring faculty to remove preferred pronouns from email signatures and banning DEI offices and trainings on campus.
The state of Kansas has been scaling back DEI policies for more than a year. Last year, Kansas state universities were prohibited from requiring applicants or staff to disclose their views on DEI initiatives in admissions, hiring, or promotions, according to AP.
This is far from the first time that preferred pronouns have made headlines in connection with gender ideology in higher education.
In 2024, the University of Alaska Anchorage offered a one-credit Women’s and Gender Studies course called “Why Pronouns Matter.” Instructors promoted themes of collective liberation and social justice.
In December, the University of Michigan’s Spectrum Center offered ”LGBTQIA2S+” training for students and staff, including a $600 “Pronouns 101” workshop for external groups like K-12 schools.
Princeton University has also offered a course titled “The Poetics and Politics of Pronouns,” studying pronouns through gender theory, literature, and linguistics.
Campus Reform has contacted the University of Kansas for comment. This article will be updated accordingly.
