Following government orders, IU eliminates DEI programs

Just three years ago, Indiana University won a national award for prioritizing diversity. Today, it’s closing the Office of the Vice President for Diversity, Equity and Inclusion.

The closure of the office has been virtually assured since a state law passed by Republicans last month banned many initiatives associated with DEI. The Trump administration also broadly called for the end of all race-based programming at the federal level.

Links to pages for the OVPDEI and the College Office of Diversity and Inclusion now route to the IU homepage.

IU spokesperson Mark Bode declined to comment and referred to a news release sent Thursday morning.

The office has existed since 1998 as the Office of the Vice President for Diversity, Equity, and Multicultural Affairs. It oversaw student scholarships, cultural events, faculty belonging initiatives and diversity data at IU among other priorities.

IU has gradually divided the office between other departments in the past few months.

Affinity programming such as the Asian Culture Center, Neal-Marshall Black Culture Center and First Nations Educational & Cultural Center have been folded in with the Office of Student Life. Staff have shifted to student life, human resources and other areas.

According to the news release, IU is directing other units to “ensure compliance with state and federal policies” and will be in touch with some students, faculty and staff with more information.

The university hasn’t confirmed whether any diversity staff have been terminated.

But even before the law was changed, the university was defunding and making changes to diversity programs. The university cut more than $200,000 last year from the Center for Research on Race & Ethnicity in Society, purportedly to address budget shortfalls. 

It also changed the website of the Office of Institutional Equity earlier this year to remove references diversity. As of today, it’s called the Office of Civil Rights Compliance.

Other universities in Indiana have also taken steps to get in line with the law. Ivy Tech dissolved its Office of Diversity, Equity and Belonging in February and as of Wednesday, Indiana State University dropped the phrase “African American” from the Charles E. Brown African American Cultural Center.