America's DEI college chaos hits Indiana schools
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Colleges have been a conservative target for years. Under President Trump, it's total warfare on all aspects of higher education — from student life to hiring to athletics.
Why it matters: Even if some funding cuts are undone by future administrations or some directives don't hold up in the courts, many colleges are rushing to make changes they won't be able to undo easily.
- "The federal government is coming for higher education," says Jeremy Young, the Freedom to Learn program director for PEN America. "And if you are one of America's 4,000 college presidents, and you stick your neck out, it's going to get cut off."
The big picture: The Trump administration is pulling multiple levers to squeeze universities. Institutions across the country are watching the administration's moves closely — and wondering if they'll be the next one in the spotlight.
- In a letter to schools last month, the Education Department said they could lose funding if they have policies related to race and diversity, making a broad interpretation that these policies violate the Supreme Court's decision on affirmative action.
Zoom in: The department gave schools two weeks to comply, after which it notified 45 colleges — including the University of Notre Dame — that they were being investigated over allegations that they participated in "race-exclusionary practices."
- The department said in a statement that the schools were being investigated for potentially violating Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which obliges schools that receive federal funds to provide students with an environment free of discrimination based on race, color or national origin.
- The schools allegedly violated the law by partnering with the organization The Ph.D. Project, which "purports to provide doctoral students with insights into obtaining a Ph.D. and networking opportunities, but limits eligibility based on the race of participants."
The intrigue: Even before the Education Department's letter last month, Notre Dame had adjusted language on its website.
- As noted in The Observer, the university's student newspaper, the URL for Notre Dame's "Diversity, Equity and Inclusion" page changed from diversity.nd.edu to weareall.nd.edu, and the page title changed from "Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion" to "We Are All Notre Dame" in late January — just after Trump took office and signed an executive order to end "illegal DEI" policies.
- A university spokesperson told The Observer the change was unrelated to the Trump administration.
State of play: Anti-DEI pressure is coming from the state level, too.
- The Senate advanced a bill that would prohibit mandatory DEI training in K-12 schools and restrict DEI programs within state colleges and universities. The House has not moved the bill, but has two more weeks to do so.
- Several lawmakers sharply questioned IU and Ball State officials in January during budget presentations over "woke" professors and programming for LGBTQ+ students.
- Ivy Tech, the state's community college system, closed its diversity, equity and belonging offices statewide last month in a move to protect state and federal funding.
Zoom out: DEI is making headlines, but the chaos is wider.
- The Education Department also warned 60 colleges, including IU, that their federal funds could be cut if they don't address allegations of antisemitic harassment on campus.
- Changes to National Institutes of Health policies — which have been temporarily blocked by the courts — are poised to hit research programs at dozens of other schools.