The University of Michigan has announced that it has ended its Marxism-rooted “diversity, equity, and inclusion” (DEI) policies to comply with President Donald Trump’s executive orders.
The college confirmed that it has now shut down its DEI office.
In an announcement, the school’s top leaders said that DEI programming has been axed due to recent executive orders from Trump and funding uncertainty.
“We write today to share important updates related to programs and central offices that support diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI),” the University’s leaders said in a joint statement.
“Conversations about these institutional efforts have been ongoing since at least 2023, and with recent federal executive orders, guidance, and funding cuts bringing urgency to the issue, we are moving forward with changes that will impact our community at the University of Michigan and Michigan Medicine,” they added.
The University of Michigan started its “inaugural DEI strategic plan” in 2016.
The school then developed a DEI 2.0 Strategic Plan for 2023-2028.
The plan included radical policies such as “Enhancing International Graduate Student Diversity,” “Enhancing Black Student Representation & Experiences,” “DEI in Carbon Neutrality and Sustainability Efforts,” and “Enhancing Religious, Spiritual & Interfaith Diversity on Campus.”
The New York Times reported the University of Michigan had spent approximately $250 million on DEI efforts through last fall.
In addition, a report from The Heritage Foundation found that the institution had a whopping 163 DEI personnel on the payroll.
The DEI closure announcement comes as federal funding for schools has been under scrutiny by Trump.
In February, the Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights sent a letter to education departments in every state.
The letter told them to remove DEI policies or risk losing federal funding.
A “frequently asked questions” page on the University of Michigan’s new DEI changes specifies that services for students that were part of their DEI office “will shift to other offices, which will continue to support access and opportunity.”
Staff tasked with implementing DEI are directed to “refocus their full effort on their core responsibilities.”
Reviews are to be made of the university’s website to ensure it complies with Trump’s executive order.
The university also said it will focus on investments for students, including increasing financial aid, “Enhancing mental health support.”
The college said it will also put more effort into “Celebrating cultural and ethnic programs” and working to support academics and scholarships.
A statement from the conservative Goldwater Institute praised the news with a hint of caution.
Matt Beienburg, director of education policy at Goldwater Institute, said:
“To truly restore the intellectual integrity of the university, its administrators must ensure that the institution also eliminates DEI requirements currently forced upon students throughout its mandatory academic course requirements, including those offered under different labels such as the required ‘Race and Ethnicity’ category that undergraduate students must complete.”
“Not only are such requirements explicitly grounded in pushing politicized narratives around ‘race, ethnicity, and racism,’ ‘racial and ethnic intolerance and the resulting inequality as it occurs in the United States,’ but they also redirect millions of dollars of student tuition and taxpayer funding to such politicized coursework,” Beienburg added.
READ MORE – Obama Admin Ordered DEI Prioritized for Hiring Air Traffic Controllers
