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Virginia colleges and universities are feeling federal pressure to end diversity, equity and inclusion policies that promote representation from various backgrounds, and George Mason and Old Dominion Universities are the latest to make or propose changes that align with President Donald Trump鈥檚 Jan. 21 executive order to end DEI efforts within the public sector.
The University of Virginia was among the first in the state to respond to the rollbacks, and the Board of Visitors voted to dissolve the Office of Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Community Partnerships March 1.Gov. Glenn Youngkin praised the move and that 鈥淒EI is done at the University of Virginia.鈥�
Trump wrote in his order that 鈥渋llegal DEI and DEIA policies鈥� violate civil rights laws.
鈥淭he federal government is charged with enforcing our civil rights laws,鈥� the executive order states. 鈥淭he purpose of this order is to ensure that it does so by ending illegal preferences and discrimination.鈥�
The federal government has also ODU and other universities and colleges to end race-based decision making鈥嬧��, or they would lose federal funding.
After renaming DEI office and axing related staff positions, George Mason considers more changes
On Thursday, GMU鈥檚 Academic Programs, Diversity and University Community Committee considered a plan recommending the Board of Visitors adopt a to comply with Trump鈥檚 order by eliminating all programs, training and processes not specifically required by federal or state law and, if necessary, scrapping staff positions within 30 days of the resolution鈥檚 approval.
However, student and faculty representatives challenged the effort at Thursday鈥檚 meeting, emphasizing the importance of DEI for inclusivity and student success.
Solon Simmons, president of the university鈥檚 Faculty Senate, said at least 90% of faculty members are opposed to the resolution. He also said more time is needed to debate the proposed clauses and that the proposal appears exclusive, opposite of the university鈥檚 culture.
鈥淭he thing that stuck to me was this idea that at Mason, we want people to belong, and then 鈥� there鈥檚 a compliance piece, which I think is really important for the board to do, but if we want everyone to feel like they belong, things like this probably are not going to help that,鈥� Simmons said.
Bryan Caplan, an economics professor at the university who was invited to speak by committee chair and Youngkin appointee Lindsey Burke, supported the idea of the committee鈥檚 dissolution. He compared DEI to McCarthyism, an era of political persecution for progressive Americans and alleged communists in the 1950s.
鈥淩enaming McCarthyism would not have removed the threat it posed to freedom of thought on campus, and renaming DEI does not remove the threat it poses to freedom of thought on campus,鈥� Caplan said. 鈥淕MU鈥檚 DEI has never done anything to me personally 鈥� but this has to be done to protect GMU from all the witch hunts that we鈥檙e going to see in the future (if) we don鈥檛 do the right thing, right now.鈥�
The resolution also proposes to dissolve the university鈥檚 Bias Incident Response Team, designed to mitigate or prevent bias occurrences, and the Access to Research and Inclusive Excellence program, which is responsible for examining university practices in identifying bias.
The university has also recently renamed the DEI office to the Office of Access, Compliance, and Community (OACC), provost and executive vice president Jim Antony and committee members highlighted, and eliminated certain positions, to ensure compliance with new executive orders.
Anthony said the Board of Visitors was scheduled to receive a comprehensive report from faculty on the university changes related to DEI in February, but the board tabled the presentation.
GMU staff did share that two vacant positions in the former DEI office were eliminated, the Antiracism Inclusive Excellence initiative was dissolved and inclusive excellence plans have been excised from the university president鈥檚 goals.
Staff also recommended the committee engage in more dialogue before passing any resolution, to ensure it aligns with the university鈥檚 values and goals after finding a few contradictions between the proposed DEI resolution and the board鈥檚 that in February.
Cameron Harris, faculty representative to the committee, said the antisemitism resolution invites OACC to use the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance Working Definition for training and education. However, it is not allowed in the proposed resolution.
鈥淭he resolution seems to limit education, training and most importantly, the valuing of our diversity,鈥� Harris said.
Burke criticized DEI at the meeting, linking it to critical race theory, and suggested it undermined merit-based admissions and academic excellence.
She also mentioned that other school leaders are dissolving DEI initiatives at institutions like the University of Virginia, James Madison University, VCU and Virginia Tech. She expects an updated resolution to be ready for the Board of Visitors鈥� May 1 meeting.
鈥淥ur job on this board is to make sure we are complying with the law and not jeopardizing the federal or state funding that may be received,鈥� Burke said. 鈥淔ederal funding is a privilege, not a right.鈥�
Old Dominion鈥檚 quiet DEI changes
Unlike Mason, Old Dominion University made several changes to its DEI initiatives that remained unknown to the public for weeks. The first reported the changes last week.
One of the major differences: ODU鈥檚 Institutional Equity & Diversity webpage was renamed Talent Management and Culture, with the banner now stating 鈥淓quity Compliance, Respect and Community.鈥�
The original banner stated 鈥渆quality, diversity, respect and inclusiveness for all.鈥�
The new webpage excludes links to ODU鈥檚 , , and it no longer states 鈥淐elebrating 85 Years of Diversity.鈥�
The task force鈥檚 status is unclear, with its page now leading to a 404 鈥減age not found鈥� error.
The nine-member Diversity and Inclusive Excellence staff page was removed from the institution鈥檚 website. The webpage now reads 鈥渁ccess denied.鈥�
Most of the staff appears to have remained under the new office, Institutional Equity and Culture, except for an office manager position. The remaining positions cover training, community relations, outreach, and Title IX regulations.
One of the staff members is Veleka Gatling, previously the associate vice president for equity and inclusive excellence under the Institutional Equity & Diversity office. Gatling is now the associate vice president for community relations in the Community Engagement and University Events office.
September Sanderlin was also listed under the directory as vice president for human resources and DEI in the human resources office. Her title is currently vice president for talent management and culture.
ODU did not explain the changes in response to the Mercury鈥檚 questions about them.
Other clues preceded ODU鈥檚 departure from DEI. Stanley Goldfarb, also a Youngkin appointee, asked about DEI in the university鈥檚 medical school curriculum and requested to meet with the school鈥檚 dean before he was removed fromODU鈥檚 Board of Visitors by Senate Democrats in May.
Goldfarb, who recently spoke on Fox & Friends Weekend about his departure, did not specify why he wanted to see the curriculum or why he wanted to meet with the dean, which he attributed to聽 Secretary of Education Aimee Guidera鈥檚 recommendation.
Goldfarb chairs an organization called Do No Harm, which he said represents physicians, nurses and medical students, patients and policymakers and is dedicated to keeping identity politics out of medical education, research and clinical practice.
鈥淲e think all patients should be treated the same, that this should be a colorblind environment, that physicians should be the best individuals that are available to practice medicine and care for all patients,鈥� Goldfarb said on Fox & Friends Weekend. 鈥淎nd as far as I鈥檓 concerned, it has nothing to do with the proper practice of medicine.鈥�
Several studies have revealed implicit bias 鈥� which DEI policies can counteract 鈥� plays a role in America鈥檚 health care system. A found 鈥渁 substantial number of white medical students and residents hold false beliefs about biological differences between black and white people (e.g., black people鈥檚 skin is thicker; black people鈥檚 blood coagulates more quickly) that could affect how they assess and treat the pain experienced by black patients.鈥� Bias can also influence how artificial intelligence applications in health care exacerbate existing disparities, shows.
Virginia鈥檚 legislature passed bills this session that would require medical professionals to complete unconscious bias training before renewing their licenses. Youngkin the measures, removing the mention of cultural competency and unconscious bias in the original wording, a change lawmakers . The bill now awaits the governor鈥檚 approval as-is or veto.
