More Ohio universities’ DEI offices are DIE-ing, as in giving up the ghost.
The Wright State University Board of Trustees adopted a resolution to address “several necessary policy changes and directed University administration to take specific actions to ensure compliance with the new state law.”
“These actions include the discontinuation of Wright State’s Division of Inclusive Excellence and five cultural and identity centers: the Asian and Native American Center, the Bolinga Black Cultural Resources Center, the Latino Center, the LGBTQA Center, and the Women’s Center,” trustees said in a statement.
The changes follow the passage of Senate Bill 1, the Advance Ohio Higher Education Act, by Ohio lawmakers. The measure, which Republican Gov. Mike DeWine signed into law in March, also requires state higher education institutions to bar DEI orientation and training courses unless they submit a written request for an exception.
The measure also limits faculty unions and levies stipulations for their faculty and tenure reviews.
“I would say that Senate Bill 1 needs to eliminate what has turned out to become institutional discrimination of a number of sorts and that’s what I would assume they’re looking to do by dismantling some of these organization or changing their mission to be more inclusive,” the Dayton Daily News quoted state Sen. Jerry Cirino, R-Kirtland, the primary sponsor of Senate Bill 1.
In Wright State's instance, staff positions in these operations are being eliminated, and trustees said that university officials are working with those affected by these changes.
The oversight and programming for the Disability and Neurodivergence Center, which was located in the Division of Inclusive Excellence, will move to the Office of Disability Services. Additionally, officials said that areas previously occupied by the cultural and identity centers and the Division of Inclusive Excellence will be expanded for Student Involvement and Leadership use.
“We want to acknowledge the important work the cultural and identity centers have done for our students and the sense of belonging they fostered within our campus community,” the trustees said. “These changes are not a reflection of the value or significance of that work, but rather an obligation of the new legal requirements.
“Students who were active in the cultural and identity centers are encouraged to join the student-led organizations most closely aligned with their work,” trustees added. “It’s important to note that the activities and events hosted by these student organizations will continue to be open to all members of the Wright State community and the supervision of all student organizations will remain with Student Involvement and Leadership in the Division of Student Affairs.”
Wright State isn’t the first school to announce changes in response to the legislation.
In April, the University of Toledo announced plans to stop several low-enrollment undergraduate programs by 2025-26 as part of a “prioritization process” and to comply with the bill’s requirements.
Ohio University in Athens also announced that it would eliminate its Division of Diversity and Inclusion office, which had been in place since 2018. A school vice president has led the division as part of the school president’s leadership team.
Changes haven’t been confined to the university level.
For example, in April, the Akron Board of Education repealed its Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion initiatives to comply with federal guidelines and ostensibly safeguard the tens of millions of dollars in federal tax dollars it receives annually.
Shortly before the bill took effect on June 27, an effort to overturn the measure fell short. A group of Youngstown State University professors who are members of the school’s chapter of the Ohio Education Association launched the effort.
They needed 248,092 valid signatures from registered voters in at least 44 of Ohio’s 88 counties to proceed. The total is 6% of the ballots cast in the last gubernatorial election.
However, according to reports, the group only secured 194,981 signatures from 33 counties. Had the push been successful, voters could have weighed in on Nov. 4.
