University of Kentucky to disband diversity office after GOP lawmakers pushed anti-DEI legislation

The University of Kentucky will disband its office promoting diversity and inclusion efforts in response to questions from policymakers that its focus on identity has stifled political discussions, its president said Tuesday.

The action on the Lexington, Kentucky, campus comes after state lawmakers debated whether to limit diversity, equity and inclusion practices at public universities. Republican supermajorities in the Kentucky House and Senate were unable to resolve differences on the issue before ending this year’s session in April, but the matter has been expected to resurface when lawmakers reconvene early next year.

In the school’s preemptive action, units housed in the shuttered Office for Institutional Diversity will be shifted elsewhere on campus, including into a newly created Office for Community Relations, UK President Eli Capilouto said in a campuswide email. The restructuring won’t result in job losses, he said.

Capilouto stressed that the school’s core values remain intact — to protect academic freedom and promote a “sense of belonging” for everyone on campus, regardless of background or perspective.

“But we’ve also listened to policymakers and heard many of their questions about whether we appear partisan or political on the issues of our day and, as a result, narrowly interpret things solely through the lens of identity,” the campus president said. “In so doing, the concern is that we either intentionally or unintentionally limit discourse. I hear many of those concerns reflected in discussions with some of our students, faculty and staff across our campus.”

Universities in other states have been grappling with similar issues, he noted.

University of Nebraska-Lincoln Chancellor Rodney Bennett on Tuesday announced plans to dissolve the school’s Office of Diversity and Inclusion. Bennett was hired last year and is the first Black person to lead Nebraska’s flagship public university campus.

“I fully grasp the weight of this decision and its implications, but a centralized approach to this work is no longer right for our institution,” Bennett said in a public letter.

Bennett said he’s splitting the task of “supporting and building a sense of community and belonging” between several other offices.

“It is incumbent on each of us to foster a welcoming environment for all members of our community,” he said.

Bennett’s announcement would seem to contradict the University of Nebraska system’s stance only months ago during testimony on a legislative bill that would have banned diversity, equity and inclusion efforts at Nebraska state colleges and universities. The system’s interim chancellor at the time, Chris Kabourek, testified against the bill.

“We are concerned about how this bill would impact our ability to compete for students, for faculty and staff,” Kabourek told lawmakers. “I think we all value diversity and the benefits of being welcoming. Certainly, that’s the kind of environment we strive and want to create on our campuses.”

The Nebraska bill failed to advance after dozens of critics testified against the proposals.

The quest to limit DEI initiatives gained momentum this year in a number of statehouses in red states. For instance, Iowa’s Republican-led Legislature approved a budget bill that would ban all DEI offices and initiatives in higher education that aren’t necessary to comply with accreditation or federal law.

Republican lawmakers in Missouri have proposed numerous bills targeting “diversity, equity and inclusion” initiatives in higher education and state government. Though the legislation hasn’t passed, the efforts have put pressure on institutions to make changes. The University of Missouri recently announced that it is dissolving its “Inclusion, Diversity and Equity” division and dispersing the staff among other departments.

In Kentucky, GOP lawmakers at the forefront of DEI debates said Tuesday that they welcomed the action taken by UK and urged other public universities to take similar steps.

“A true elimination of these DEI policies in our public universities will end the division they promote, and allow our colleges and universities to be the true bastion of free thought we need them to be,” Republican state Sen. Mike Wilson said in a statement.

Opponents of the anti-DEI bills in Kentucky warned that the restrictions on campuses could roll back gains in minority enrollments and stifle campus discussions about past discrimination.

On its website, UK’s Office for Institutional Diversity said its mission was to “enhance the diversity and inclusivity of our university community through the recruitment and retention of an increasingly diverse population.” It says that initiatives promoting diversity-related experiences can help ensure success in an “interconnected world.”

In outlining the restructuring at UK, the university will not mandate centralized diversity training at the college or unit level, Capilouto said. It won’t place required diversity statements in hiring and application processes, he said, and websites will be free of political positions to ensure impartiality.

“This should in no way be construed as impinging upon academic freedom,” UK’s president added. “Faculty decide what to teach as part of formal instruction and where discovery should take them as scholars in their areas of expertise.”

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Associated Press Writers David Lieb in Jefferson City, Missouri, and Margery A. Beck in Omaha, Nebraska, contributed to this report.