President Donald Trump’s actions against DEI are an “unconstitutional” threat to academic freedom and accessibility, claims a new lawsuit filed by a coalition of higher education organizations and other public interest groups.
The following article is a part of University Business’ ongoing coverage of President Donald J. Trump’s impact on higher education during his second term in office. Click here for the latest updates.
The lawsuit contends that Trump’s executive orders targeting diversity, equity and inclusion programs in the public and private sectors are “‘overly vague,’ and fail to define such terms as ‘DEI,’ ‘equity,’ and ‘illegal DEIA.'”
“The Trump Administration’s actions represent a direct threat to the core values that define our work and our profession,” said Paulette Granberry Russell, president and CEO of the National Association of Diversity Officers in Higher Education, one of the plaintiffs. “In issuing these far-reaching executive orders, the Trump Administration has created an environment of fear and uncertainty, hoping to compel institutions, organizations and individuals to reconsider their commitment to equity and justice.”
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The American Association of University Professors, another plaintiff, said that DEI programs have filled in knowledge gaps and opened “entirely new vistas of inquiry,” such as scientific research into how race and ethnicity affect health outcomes.
“The elimination of DEI programs and initiatives at public academic institutions is a threat to the democratic purposes of higher education as a public good,” AAUP President Todd Wolfson said.
Joining the lawsuit, filed by the nonprofit Democracy Now, are Restaurant Opportunities Centers United and the mayor and city council of Baltimore.
How Trump aims to dismantle DEI
Trump’s order equates DEI initiatives with discrimination. “Illegal DEI and DEIA policies not only violate the text and spirit of our longstanding Federal civil-rights laws, they also undermine our national unity, as they deny, discredit and undermine the traditional American values of hard work, excellence, and individual achievement in favor of an unlawful, corrosive, and pernicious identity-based spoils system,” Trump wrote.
Trump directed all federal agencies to eliminate all DEI-related offices, programs and policies and “combat illegal private-sector DEI preferences, mandates, policies, programs, and activities.” Federal agencies will also use the order to enforce civil rights laws in the private sector with the goal of deterring diversity, equity and inclusivity initiatives.
The president also called upon federal agencies to identify “potential civil compliance investigations” of higher education institutions with endowments over $1 billion, publicly traded corporations, large nonprofits, and state and local bar and medical associations.
