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United States universities rename diversity areas under political pressure
Public and private institutions began replacing terms such as diversity and equality with others like community or well-being. According to an analysis cited by ABC España, the Republican offensive cut some spending and positions, but in many cases the structures remained active under other names.
Universities in the United States are changing the name and organization of their diversity, equality and inclusion offices amid a political and legislative offensive against those programs. According to ABC España, based on an analysis by The Economist, many schools chose to remove words such as “diversity” or “equality” from their structures and replace them with others such as “community,” “culture” or “well-being.”
Among the cases mentioned, George Washington University replaced its Office of Diversity, Equality and Community Engagement with an Office of Community, Culture and Inclusion. The University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign also renamed its Office of Diversity, Equality and Inclusion as the Office of Access, Civil Rights and Community.
According to Chronicle of Higher Education, since 2023 more than 150 state bills against diversity programs on university campuses have been introduced. ABC España also noted that 34 initiatives in 19 states have already become law. In that context, Donald Trump increased the pressure with orders to dismantle such programs in the federal government and with threats to withdraw funding from universities that keep them.
The article describes three responses from universities. Some resisted openly, such as Harvard, which rejected White House demands tied to the continuation of federal funding. Others publicly reaffirmed their support for these programs. And a third path, which appears to be the most widespread, consisted of reorganizing offices and changing names without fully dismantling previous functions.
In Texas, after the approval in 2023 of Senate Bill No. 17, the University of Texas at Austin said it had fired 49 workers, while the American Association of University Professors counted 62. Jay Hartzell, then president, said the funds allocated to those areas would be reassigned to teaching and research.
According to The Economist, the impact on staff was more limited than the political debate suggests. At Ohio State University, before Senate Bill No. 1 took effect in 2025, there were more than 150 employees linked to diversity, at an annual cost of about $11.2 million. Later, those positions and departments almost disappeared, but nearly four out of five employees remained on payroll with new titles or in other areas, and personnel costs fell 14%.
In the University of North Carolina system, The Economist added, about 69 people linked to those functions had changes in title or department after a policy review approved in May 2024. There the workforce barely changed and salaries were reduced 5%.
Ohio Senator Jerry Cirino, the sponsor of one of the bans, said several institutions changed titles and department names, but that the practice continues under another label. In the same vein, Emelyn A. de la Peña, president of the National Association of Diversity Officers in Higher Education, said that in some cases the language changed for the public, although the underlying work remains very similar.
ABC España also reported that lawmakers are seeking to tighten oversight. Texas created the figure of an ombudsman with the power to investigate violations and recommend the suspension of funds. In Ohio, a proposal was introduced to require proof that reassigned staff are performing substantially different tasks. And in Tennessee, a bill was introduced to prevent any department from carrying out the functions of a diversity office, regardless of what it is called.
For Isaac Kamola, of the American Association of University Professors, cosmetic changes will not be enough to stop conservative attacks. In that view, the dispute over these programs is already part of a broader political battle within American higher education.
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Sobre esta nota. Redactada por El Notero con asistencia de inteligencia artificial, a partir de lo publicado por el medio citado. El Notero no hizo reporteo propio sobre este hecho.
