University Of Memphis Latest School To Shutter DEI Office
Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) initiatives in higher education have come under attack by both the federal government and state legislatures. Throughout the year, several publicly funded universities have shuttered their DEI offices to comply with federal and state regulations, with the University of Memphis now being the latest to do so.
According to Fox 13, the University of Memphis’ Office of Multicultural Affairs was shut down on Friday, only 24 hours after university president Bill Hardgrave sent out an email alerting students that the university is ending its DEI initiatives. Hargrave added that the closure of the office was only the first step in the University of Memphis phasing out DEI initiatives, with the school removing any reference to DEI from its website and official documents, as well as adjusting scholarships aimed at increasing the school’s diversity.
A spokesperson for the University of Memphis issued a statement on Friday explaining that the school is phasing out its DEI programs as a result of changes in state law.
“Public Chapter 458, known as the ‘Dismantling DEI Departments Act,’ is now law in Tennessee. This state law and recent executive orders prohibit public institutions of higher education, like the University of Memphis, from maintaining, authorizing or supporting programs that promote diversity, equity and inclusion. As a result, the Office of Multicultural Affairs has been closed,” the statement read.
“While the University of Memphis does not operate in a way that discriminates against students, faculty, staff or our overall community, the parameters of the Tennessee law require us to reevaluate our operations to ensure that we remain in compliance with how we support students, nonacademic programs and some academic support programs.”
The Office of Multicultural Affairs was a popular hub for the University of Memphis’ Black students. “Sometimes Black people can feel left out of anything. Just having that space to be who we are and stand out in the crowd. It really just helps us come together as a community,” Camaya Clark told Fox 13. Clark added that news of the closure made her “feel sad and upset.”
“I feel disappointed and sad. I spent all my four years here,” Courtland Robinson, a University of Memphis senior, told Fox 13 of the closure. “This was my place to go to every day after class.”
The closure can only be seen as a massive blow to the University of Memphis’ Black student population. Demographic data released by the university last Fall revealed 37% of University of Memphis students are white and 34% were Black. When compared to 2020 Census data for the City of Memphis, reporting 25% of residents were white and 61% were Black, it becomes incredibly apparent that the University of Memphis’ DEI initiatives did necessary work to ensure the school’s student population more closely reflected the city where it’s based.
On the federal level, there’s been plenty of confusion about the Trump administration’s anti-DEI guidance. While the Department of Education has issued several memos and a “Dear Colleague” letter threatening to withhold federal funding from any publicly funded university engaging in “illegal DEI,” a federal judge recently ruled that those memos were illegal. Which, on paper, sounds like a win. Yet the damage has largely been done, with countless schools having already shuttered their DEI offices before the ruling.
As we’re currently seeing with the University of Memphis, even if the federal government runs into legal pushback, there are plenty of state legislatures willing to take on anti-DEI laws themselves.
SEE ALSO:
UVA President Resigns Over Trump’s Anti-DEI Investigation
Federal Judge Rules Against DOE’s Anti-DEI Guidance In Universities
Brown Kills DEI Programs, Regains $50M In Federal Funding
Judge Temporarily Halts Mississippi’s DEI Ban In Schools, Colleges
UNC Asheville Dean Of Students Fired For Pro-DEI Comments
MIT Becomes Latest University To Back Away From DEI Initiatives
Texas Is The Latest State To Censor Higher Education Over DEI Concerns
University Of Memphis Latest School To Shutter DEI Office was originally published on newsone.com
