The DEI slide: How colleges and universities are managing the cultural shift

Abstract

Kentucky and Wisconsin are the most recent states to grapple with proposed bans of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion initiatives. While the University of Wisconsin Board of Regents originally voted against the proposed DEI bill, they eventually reached an agreement with state legislators. The UW system was granted $800 million from the state for employee pay raises and construction projects, in exchange for freezing DEI hiring, changing position titles of existing DEI staff to “student success” roles, and eliminating DEI statements from student applications.