On Tuesday, University of Missouri President Mun Choi announced that the university would dissolve the Inclusion, Diversity and Equity division. No staff will be laid off and all programming will remain, just housed under different departments.
Choi said he's been following nationwide changes closely as well as the attacks on DEI that have taken place on the state level.
Thirteen bills to eliminate or reduce public DEI programs have been introduced in the Missouri legislature over the last two years. Choi cited several policy rollbacks such as the removal of diversity hiring statements, ending of race-conscious scholarships and ensuring that inclusion means inclusion for all were essential to preventing those bills from passing.
When Maurice Gipson, the vice chancellor for inclusion, diversity & equity, accepted a job to run Philander State University, it appeared the division's future was in limbo.
The four units of the IDE division will be folded into the following areas in the university:
- Erika Aaron, head of Inclusive Engagement and Constituent Relations will report to the Division of Student Affairs.
- NaTashua Davis, head of Access and Leadership Development will report to the Office of the Provost.
- Shruti Rana, head of Inclusion and Strategic Initiatives will report to the Office of the Provost.
- La Toya Stevens, head of the Division of Marketing and Communications will report to the Central Marketing and Communications department.
Choi sees these changes as a "sustainable path forward" as the work done by the IDE Division will no longer be separated from other areas of the university. With the reorganization Choi says MU remains committed to inclusivity.
IDE at MU goes far beyond the department. There are IDE related programming across the university, and it in some way touches every student. For example, the School of Law holds a clinic to help veterans get access to disability services. The School of Medicine holds a summit every year reaching out to underprivileged youth.
"I believe that universities must continue to do the important work and stick to the principles of inclusivity," Choi said at recent news conference. "We need to ensure that it doesn't exclude in the name of inclusion, and to ensure that we are serving all students, faculty and staff, and that no one is left out because of their background."
Gipson said the changes were more about preserving the work done by the IDE division than the division itself.
"So with those examples already out there, we were able to look and see, you know, what were the pitfalls (other red state universities) encountered as they were trying to think through this new normal in diversity, equity and inclusion," Gipson said on the university's thinking in the reorganization effort. "As institutions, we're thinking about, how can we kind of save the title of the division versus the approach we took which was, what do we do every day? How do we make an impact? How do we actually address the issues that we say we want to solve?"
While Choi and Gipson channeled optimism about the changes Shawn Owens, a student coordinator at the School of Medicine expressed disappointment. "I think everyone was disappointed by not surprised by this move considering what has been going on with legislation and DEI initiatives across higher education institutions," Owens said.
This decision comes amidst a nationwide push against diversity, equity and inclusion departments in conservative states.
The Chronicle of Higher Education reports that since 2023 DEI changes have been made at 185 universities across 25 states. Consequently, there have been 12 states have passed laws limiting or banning DEI offices in public universities.
The conservative shift against DEI has been rapid. As recently as 2021, Missouri Gov. Mike Parson said "Missouri schools are teaching diversity, equity, and inclusion to help prepare our students for life and for the workforce by allowing them to better understand and respect each other’s differences," in a Facebook post.
In 2024, gubernatorial candidates Jay Ashcroft and Bill Eigel have said if elected they would threaten withholding funding for public universities with DEI divisions.
"I'm seeing, a seismic shift, over the four years I've been here," Gipson said on the attitudes towards DEI. "If we rewind back to that time (2020), it really seemed as if, the possibilities were unlimited. (That) we may actually have an opportunity to solve some of, the nation's most pressing issues related around inclusion. But then we see just, you know, three years later, that some individuals who were open to conversations, now are less open to those conversations.
Gipson came to MU with three major priorities which included reducing the success gap for students "across the spectrum", recruiting a faculty that's representative of Missouri and ensuring that everyone feels welcome at MU.
In Gipson's view when DEI gets out of those areas, resources begin to be misaligned.
Gipson is hopeful that people will come to appreciate the realignment as services remain intact, "our stakeholders are going to come here and see the exact same people who care for them, and want to do the right thing to make sure that they can be successful."
