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CV NEWS FEED // The University of Kentucky is closing its diversity, inclusion, and equity (DEI) office amid concerns from lawmakers around the country about the role of the offices at public universities, President Eli Capilouto announced on August 20.
Capilouto said in a video announcing the change that he began discussions with campus members several weeks ago about how to best care for students and “advance Kentucky in all that we do” in “thoughtful and heartfelt” conversations, following Kentucky lawmakers’ attempts earlier this year to cut DEI offices out of public universities.
“And many of the questions raised in these conversations, in fact, mirror the concerns that lawmakers are raising,” Capilouto said, adding:
How do we create space for divergent points of view, or do we too often place ourselves in an ideological bubble that shuts out other perspectives? In creating the perception that we have centralized so much of our work around inclusion in one office, do we undermine the idea that creating a sense of belonging is a responsibility we all share—everywhere—on campus?
Capilouto said that changes, which will mainly affect the DEI office, must be made to the university to facilitate a larger, stronger community.
“I will outline those changes soon to our campus community and then with lawmakers,” he said. “Let me be clear: Our commitment to inclusion is strong. This is not an effort to reduce employees or to take a job with DEI in its title and hide it in a smaller, less visible unit on campus.”
He added:
Rather, this is an effort to make clear that our priorities are steadfast: We are committed to being an institution that invites all perspectives and ensures the work we do to support students, employees, patients and others is for everyone.
According to the Kentucky Lantern, an August 20 email Capilouto sent to staff members additionally announced that the university will remove diversity statements from hiring documents and will not mandate “diversity training.”
Republican Kentucky lawmakers who had previously attempted to pass legislation to cut DEI offices celebrated the University of Kentucky’s announcement, the Kentucky Lantern reported.
“I appreciate the University of Kentucky for taking this step and remain hopeful that other institutions, as well as the Council on Postsecondary Education, will follow their lead and recognize that this failed experiment has done nothing to make postsecondary education more accessible,” Kentucky District 58 State Rep. Jennifer Decker reportedly said in a statement.
Senate Republican Whip Mike Wilson remarked, “A true elimination of these DEI policies in our public universities will end the division they promote, allowing our colleges and universities to be the true bastion of free thought we need them to be.”
