Under federal pressure, USC eliminates DEI as a stated value

Topline:

Why now: In a message to students, faculty, staff and alumni, the university said it’s rebranding its DEI efforts as “Community,” in part because DEI “has evolved to encompass so many interpretations” and become “embroiled in broader cultural and political disagreements.” The university also said this decision was fueled by recent federal guidance.

The backstory: In mid-February, the Department of Education issued a letter to all educational institutions, inveighing against DEI. The Trump administration characterizes the framework as a covert way to incorporate “explicit race-consciousness into everyday training, programming, and discipline.” The letter also maintains that DEI is discriminatory and has served to “hurt white and Asian people.” The letter instructs all educational institutions to dismantle their DEI programs, or face funding cuts at a time when many California universities are already strapped for cash.

What professors think: “Many college and university leaders are being placed in an incredibly difficult position,” said Royel Johnson, a tenured professor at USC’s Rossier School of Education. “The current administration is, in many ways, weaponizing access to funding” to fulfill its political agenda. University rebrandings are a way to shield themselves “from political scrutiny or attack.”

Johnson, who is also the director of the National Assessment of Collegiate Campus Climates at USC’s Race and Equity Center, said the school’s new “Community” value is “a beautiful aspiration,” “something many people can get behind.”

“But ‘community’ isn't a given,” he added. “And without intentional efforts to diversify, to make sure that folks feel included, and to address long-standing inequities, I think ‘community’ ends up being reserved for a few who have always belonged.”

Go deeper: The Trump administration wants colleges to end DEI programs. But what do those programs do?