University of Pittsburgh shuts down DEI office in response to federal scrutiny
The University of Pittsburgh recently announced that it will close its Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) office amid the Trump administration’s crackdown of DEI programs and initiatives.
University Chancellor Joan Gabel and former DEI officer Clyde Pickett made the announcement in a letter sent to the university community on June 30.
The University of Pittsburgh (UPitt) recently announced that it will close its Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) office amid the Trump administration’s crackdown of DEI programs and initiatives.
UPitt Chancellor Joan Gabel and former university DEI officer Clyde Pickett made the announcement in a letter sent to the university community on June 30, as reported by Trib Total Media. The administrators stated that the university is updating its DEI policy due to a notice from the U.S. Department of Education.
The school will implement a new office in replacement of the DEI center that will “ensure oversight and support” in “civil rights and Title IX compliance,” according to Gabel and Pickett.
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“The new Office of Institutional Engagement and Well-being will serve as a vital partner in cultivating a university where students, faculty and staff are engaged, supported and respected across all areas of campus life,” Gabel and Pickett wrote in their letter, according to The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.
Earlier this year, Pickett spoke out in support of DEI despite the nationwide scale-back of the policy, according to The University Times.
Gabel also co-authored a letter in February, describing how “many of our community members” felt “great uncertainty” in the midst of the federal government’s DEI crackdown. Gabel pledged to “be in touch with additional information, as appropriate, including future guidance from the Department of Education.”
Campus Reform has reported about the Department of Education’s notice that it sent to universities in February warning that, if they do not eliminate DEI programs, they may lose their funding.
Proponents of “discriminatory practices,” the department contended, “have attempted to further justify them—particularly during the last four years—under the banner of ‘diversity, equity, and inclusion’ (‘DEI’), smuggling racial stereotypes and explicit race-consciousness into everyday training, programming, and discipline.”
UPitt is far from the first school to eliminate DEI following the federal crackdown. Other schools, including the University of Southern California, the University of Alaska, Vanderbilt University, and Northwestern University have removed references to DEI online.
Earlier this year, the University of Pennsylvania renamed DEI position titles so that they no longer include terms such as “diversity” or “inclusion.”
Campus Reform has contacted the University of Pittsburgh for comment. This article will be updated accordingly.
