MTSU has been working to identify, adjust and eliminate university programs and activities that don’t comply with the new government policies regarding Diversity, Equity and Inclusion, or DEI, according to a campus-wide email from MTSU President Sidney A. McPhee.
The government policies include President Donald Trump’s executive orders impacting DEI programs in the workplace and Tennessee Public Chapter 458 – also known as the “Dismantling DEI Departments Act.”
MTSU has taken the following actions to comply with the government mandates:
- Removed any reference to DEI criteria in existing scholarships
- Closed the June Anderson Center for Women and Nontraditional Students
- Closed the Office of Intercultural and Diversity Affairs
- Removed and/or adjusted any website references to DEI (this is an ongoing action)
- Renamed the Office of Institutional Equity and Compliance to the Office of Civil Rights Compliance
- Closed the Center for Fairness, Justice, and Equity in the College of Education
In addition to the above actions already taken, the university will finalize the following before September 1:
- Removing and/or adjusting any website references to DEI
- Eliminating inclusion initiatives in the Office of the Assistant to the President for Community Engagement and Inclusion
- Reviewing and eliminating University support for affinity groups or programs that focus on DEI initiatives
- Reviewing policy references to DEI, to adjust or eliminate where warranted
If reviews identify additional impacted areas not mentioned above, the University will address them and make the necessary adjustments, McPhee said.
“We know these changes have caused some concerns across our community. However, let me reiterate, MTSU has, and will continue, to serve all students and provide the resources needed to succeed,” McPhee said. “That commitment is unwavering.”
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