Diversity, equity and inclusion programs on college campuses face an uncertain future a week into Donald Trump’s second term as president.
Trump — who in 2020 signed an executive order prohibiting certain federal diversity training practices before Joe Biden repealed it shortly after taking office — kicked off his new term with a slew of executive orders to eliminate diversity training and hiring practices in the federal government. On his first full day in office, Trump ordered the repeal of long-standing directives made by previous presidents that sought to promote diversity, opportunity and inclusion in the federal workplace — stretching back to a 1965 order that prohibited discrimination and required federal contractors to develop affirmative action programs.
The repeal is part of a larger executive order, titled “Ending Illegal Discrimination and Restoring Merit-Based Opportunity,” signed by Trump last Tuesday. The order also requires all federal agencies and departments to encourage the elimination of diversity practices in the private sector.
“Roughly 60 years after the passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, critical and influential institutions of American society, including the Federal Government, major corporations, financial institutions, the medical industry, large commercial airlines, law enforcement agencies, and institutions of higher education have adopted and actively use dangerous, demeaning, and immoral race- and sex-based preferences under the guise of so-called ‘diversity, equity, and inclusion,’” the executive order read.
The future of DEI programs at some colleges and universities is now in question under the presidential directive. The order requires the attorney general to coordinate with other executive agencies and submit a detailed report within 120 days outlining ways for the federal government to pressure private employers into ending DEI initiatives.
Each agency involved will also be required to name up to nine corporations, nonprofit associations or colleges and universities with endowments of more than $1 billion that should be investigated for DEI practices and compliance with civil rights law. Binghamton University — with an estimated endowment of around $245 million in the fiscal year 2023-24 — would likely not be subject to this reporting.
A separate part of Trump’s directive requires the attorney general and the secretary of education to send guidance to all colleges and universities receiving federal funding on how to comply with the U.S. Supreme Court’s 2023 decision to outlaw racially based affirmative action in college admissions.
“We are and will always be committed to the core values of the University — Unity, Identity, Excellence,” wrote Ryan Yarosh ‘02, MPA ‘09, the University’s senior director of media and public relations.
Trump also signed a separate executive order last Monday calling for the elimination of federal initiatives to promote equitable opportunity and access. Officials across multiple executive agencies have already begun eliminating DEI initiatives. A memorandum sent on Friday by the Office of Personnel Management — which directs federal civil service employees — called for the elimination of all DEI and environmental justice “offices and positions within sixty days.” The State Department, Commerce Department and the Department of Labor removed website pages about promoting diversity in the workplace.
Some corporations have begun voluntarily rolling back programs and policies designed to foster inclusion in the workplace, many of which were implemented or strengthened in the wake of George Floyd’s 2020 murder and the subsequent national public outcry. On Friday, Target became the latest company to roll back its commitment to DEI initiatives and ended a program to sell more products from minority-owned businesses. They joined other big-name corporations — including Lowe’s, McDonald’s, Meta and Harley-Davidson — in eliminating diversity goals over the past year.
Other companies like Pinterest and Costco have said they remain committed to promoting diversity, with more than 98 percent of Costco shareholders rejecting a measure to study possible risks or drawbacks to maintaining its DEI initiatives.
Following the end to race-conscious admissions, the University saw slight changes in student diversity and enrollment statistics. Chelsea Brothers, the political coordinator for the Thurgood Marshall Pre-Law Society and a senior majoring in philosophy, politics and law, warned that the elimination of DEI programs at universities would have repercussions for college students and the country.
“While federal agencies and institutions are at stake, one may inquire if Binghamton University and other state universities bear any effects,” Brothers wrote. “The answer is yes. With Black-identifying students attending Binghamton only making up 4.4% out of the 18,815 student population, diversity is definitely at stake. Sooner or later, DEI programs will no longer be mandated and the avid desire to push diversity won’t be as encouraged. With our organization representing Thurgood Marshall, he embodies civil rights and diversity as he fought for integrated schooling. Trump’s policies set us back as his attacks on diversity affect Binghamton students as well as America wholly.”