Asia Alexander was an editorial intern at Forbes during the summer of 2024. She is in her senior year at Howard University, where she is majoring in journalism with a minor in political science.
In March, the University of Florida fired its chief diversity officer, and her staff of 27, to comply with a state law banning spending on DEI .Public universities in red states have seen the biggest changes, but even private colleges in blue states need to worry about legal challenges–to targeted scholarships and other programs.
But other state universities have engaged in a more nuanced response, renaming DEI offices and moving staff into new positions and programs with more broadly defined missions. For example, an Alabama law taking effect October 1 bars state funds from being spent on DEI or the teaching of “divisive concepts.” So last month, the president of the University of Alabamaand creating a new Division of Opportunities, Connections and Success, to be headed up by G.
The May 2020 murder of George Floyd by Minneapolis police–and the racial reckoning that followed–led to an explosion in the use of the term DEI, particularly in corporate America. A December 2020barring race-conscious admissions to colleges. That decision has emboldened legal activists to challenge a growing list of programs, including scholarships reserved for Black students or other groups.
As an example of the breadth of her DEI assignments, Medina points out that as a member of the AU president’s, she’s involved with Americans with Disabilities Act compliance and accessibility. “So that's one of the things that we're looking to really improve, because we're at a very old institution. We can't put elevators in buildings,’’ she says. “So now we don't have classes in those buildings.
DEI Colleges Anti-DEI Laws ADA NCAA University Of Florida American University Race Conscious Admissions Affirmative Action
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