Amid calls from some Republicans for the state government to stop funding diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) programs at public institutions, universities are taking their own steps to reframe such programs and related initiatives.
The University of Mississippi, colloquially referred to as Ole Miss, revealed plans Friday to shutter its Division of Diversity and Community Engagement after what officials said was a yearlong, internal review. Instead, Ole Miss will propose a new division to the Institutions of Higher Learning (IHL) Board of Trustees called the Division of Access, Opportunity, and Community Engagement.
The new division will comprise three areas: Access & Community Engagement, Access & Opportunity, and Access & Compliance. The goal, per a campuswide email from Chancellor Glenn Boyce, is to bring in other university offices and functions to ensure both access and higher graduation rates.
“We are steadfast in our commitment to the transformative power of higher education, and now is the time to prioritize our efforts to broaden access to higher education,” Boyce wrote to students, faculty, and staff. “However, access alone is not enough. We must be committed to providing opportunities that cultivate academic attainment which leads to meaningful lives.”
A news release attached to Boyce’s email cited the statewide Ascent to 55% initiative, which looks to grow the overall number of Mississippians with a college degree or equivalent.
Shawnboda Mead, who served as vice chancellor for the Division of Diversity and Community Engagement and will take on the same role if the new department goes into place, said the move is a step in the right direction.
“The mission for our division will enable us to better address the unique needs of our community and ensure that every individual has the support they need to thrive,” Mead said in the release. “This will enhance the pathways for success, opportunity, and achievement.”
However, other faculty members at Ole Miss disagree with the decision and deem it an effort to back away from DEI. DEI is often described as an organizational framework intended to implement practices and policies that support people who come from varying backgrounds while providing them the resources to feel comfortable and thrive on college campuses – or evening the playing field for individuals of all races, supporters argue. In recent years, critics have grown louder in arguing that DEI programs are discriminatory towards groups such as White Americans and are often weaponized at public universities to impact the political thinking of students.
James Thomas, a tenured professor of sociology at Ole Miss who often spars with GOP officials on social media, called the university’s announcement “cowardly” and asserted underserved populations will not benefit through the proposed Division of Access, Opportunity, and Community Engagement.
“You can put as much lipstick on a pig as you want,” Thomas posted Friday afternoon on X, tagging his employer. “It’s still cowardly.”
“For everyone (sic) boot licker saying ‘it’s just a name change, no big deal,’ read the fine print. It’s a restructuring,” Thomas wrote in a follow-up post on Saturday morning. “There’s no clear focus on programs for historically underserved groups. There’s no component for diversifying faculty.”
As alluded to in Thomas’ posts, other Mississippi universities have recently taken steps to reframe their DEI offices possibly in hopes of avoiding a legislative ban. Both Mississippi State University and the University of Southern Mississippi have implemented name changes to their diversity divisions as Mississippi could eventually follow in the footsteps of 22 other states in barring or rolling back DEI measures funded by taxpayers.
The difference is Ole Miss will be the first to take its changes to the IHL Board of Trustees. Although restructuring a non-academic office does not require approval, Ole Miss “felt it was best” to submit a request to the governing board.
“In April 2017, the Board of Trustees approved a request from the University of Mississippi to reorganize existing divisions into the Division of Diversity and Community Engagement. While modifying the structure of a non-academic unit at a university does not require approval from IHL, the University of Mississippi felt it was best to submit a request to IHL for review of this latest reorganization of the division,” a Monday statement from IHL reads.
While Boyce’s email did not mention if the move was made as a guardrail to avoid anti-DEI legislation, one GOP leader is watching the move closely.
Shad White, Mississippi’s Republican state auditor who recently focused his annual political stump at the Neshoba County Fair on attacking DEI, informed SuperTalk Mississippi News via text message that he is keeping tabs on Ole Miss and other universities’ decisions to alter diversity divisions. White has repeatedly asserted that DEI is used to “ostracize” certain populations and believes it’s possible to promote the representation and participation of all races and backgrounds without the organized framework.
“It’s good these universities are starting to understand these controversial, racist programs are bad,” White wrote. “But I hope this is not them just changing the name of the office and still doing the same things. My team and I will keep watching to see how they spend your taxpayer dollars.”
As White and others continue to advocate for a DEI ban, some school administrators have fought back arguing the concept has been misconstrued by politicians.
Sid Salter, vice president of strategic communications at Mississippi State, said not only is their perspective flawed but universities such as his own are using DEI with honorable intentions for better outcomes such as enrollment growth and further incentives for people of all walks of life to receive a degree.
“I think we’re doing what we need to do in Mississippi. We’re taking young people who are hungry for good jobs, hungry for good lives, and who are in transition. When you talk about what we do to impact access, opportunity, and student access, that’s what we’re doing. Not DEI (as White considers it),” Salter said on Aug. 1 in response to White’s fair speech. “It’s worked for us because Mississippi State has experienced historic growth over the last 11 years or so.”
