As the Trump administration urges schools to dismantle diversity, equity and inclusion programs by Friday and faces cuts in federal funding, USC scrubbed several references to the DEI statement, renamed them as teacher positions and, in some cases, remove references to Black and Indigenous scholarships.
According to USC faculty and staff, some reviews from the USC website archive show that the actions of the University of Southern California, similar to several other universities across the country this month, are aimed at avoiding federal scrutiny.
DEI Mission Statement, Diversity Programming, or references to DEI staff have been altered or eliminated by the Cinematic Arts School, Dramatic Arts School, Annenberg School of Communication and Journalism, Leonard Davis School of Arts, Design and the Faculty of Geoscience. This includes renaming day initiatives and positions focused on “Community and Culture” and removing multiple website pages and paragraphs on diversity.
The USC changes occur when universities navigate warnings from the US Department of Education nationwide. Two weeks ago I published a letter informing the school using “a competition for decisions relating to admission, employment, compensation, financial aid, scholarships, awards, awards, prizes, academics, housing, graduations, and all aspects of student, academics, and campus life expectancy.”
The letter, which presented a new interpretation of how federal officials enforce existing rules, said the department “no longer tolerate obvious and secret racism,” and chose white and Asian American students as victims. The government said it would “enforce the law equally and vigorously” in all schools that are supported by the federal government.
The Ministry of Education has not announced any investigations or specific funding cuts.
National trends
Nationally, universities take a different stance. The president of Colorado State University, citing the need for federal funding, said he would re-create race-related programs and avoid “gambling” to challenge the Trump administration. At the University of Cincinnati, the president said there should be “lol options.” The University of Alaska Regent voted for the DEI to be scrubbed from the system. According to local news reports, the University of Iowa will close its dorm community next year for black, Latino and LGBTQ+ students.
The president of Wesleyan University in Connecticut created himself as a symbol of resistance and called the White House administration “authoritarian.”
Jerry Kang, a law professor and DEI expert who was UCLA’s first deputy prime minister for equity, diversity and inclusion until 2020, said it was no surprise that “universities will engage in risk aversion over-violation.”
“That’s what universities have always done, that’s what businesses have always done. We tend to follow the political winds,” he said. But Kang added, “You can’t just defend without clarifying the concept of muscularity of what you stand in this field.”
Leaders at the University of California and California State University said they already follow state anti-discrimination laws, including Proposition 209, which banned the use of race in admissions to the state’s systems about 30 years ago. Stanford announced in January that it would evaluate diversity efforts after President Trump signed a White House executive order banning DEI in federal programs and contracts. The order is temporarily pending after a lawsuit filed by the Washington, D.C.-based Association of College Diversity Officers.
Mitchell Chan, interim deputy director of equity, diversity and inclusion at UCLA, said at a city hall meeting Thursday that there were no plans to change the school’s programs, including racially-themed graduation ceremonies, cultural dorm room floors, black and Latino student clubs and resource centres. He cited recent court issues, including federal lawsuits by the teachers’ union over federal directives.
“We’re maintaining our normal course. …We’ll adjust as needed. Chan said, “We have Plan B,” adding, “We have to take these challenges very seriously in the efforts of the DEI and plan for potential demolitions.”
USC takes action
One of the state’s most diverse and largest universities, USC has attracted attention for its responses within several universities and departments. Certainly, a huge portion of the university’s diversity program description is not mentioned on its website. A number of web pages refer to diversity support, including campus-wide inclusion and diversity offices that promote “USC’s long history of access and opportunity” and promote support for a “diverse and inclusive community.”
However, some USC schools and universities, including the Dana and David Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences, and departments within the largest university division, have recently removed DEI references from their websites.
Sent Monday to the Dornsife Linguistics Faculty, a department chair email shared with the Times by three USC employees, insisted that faculty members would change or remove references to public DEIs.
” …In light of these very realistic concerns, and in light of the very realistic concerns relying on federal funding across the country, universities and other institutions are all removing the wording from visible sites that attract government AI scrapers trying to identify and route DEI support,” a message from Andrew Simpson, a professor of linguistics. “This is clearly shocking and incredibly offensive. But the alternative that will lose all federal grant support is simply devastating.”
“Teachers are not asked to adjust the content of their education,” the memo later added.
In response to a request from the Times, Simpson said he “did not require a lawsuit,” but the dean had sent a message to department faculty members. “The choice of how to proceed with the current situation is to be freely created by each individual and not mandated/commanded by anyone.”
Moh El-Naggar, interim dean of Dornsife, responded to time requests, saying that he was “navigating the response as a USC academic unit.”
In a statement, a USC spokesman did not answer questions about whether there is a university-wide instruction to modify or delete the DEI statement or programs.
The spokesman directed the Times to a campus-wide message from President Carolfort on Wednesday. In it, Folto said, “We will continue to review our programs and practices, ensuring that our direct relationship with our academic mission is clear and fully compliant with evolving legal requirements.” A letter linked to the FAQ in which USC states that “we are “considering DEI-related programs and practices” to ensure alignment with compliance obligations in light of recent executive orders and agency guidance.
The Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism writes “Mission and Vision” in the “Diversity and Inclusion” section of its website. Professor Laura Castañeda’s title has been changed from associate dean of “diversity, equity, inclusion and access” to “Community and Culture.”
Castagneda refused to speak to the times. Speaking to student publication Annenberg Media, she said the goal was to “soften the language.”
“I think that’s what the idea was – and I think this is true across the university. [that we would] “I will soften my language just because I might do it for a while.” I will continue with my work – work will not stop. But don’t create obvious targets yourself. Let’s not choose to fight,” Castagneda said.
Willow Bay of Annenberg Dean did not respond to the interview request.
The School of Motion Picture Arts no longer has the “Diversity and Inclusion” website, which went online on February 16th. A similar, deleted “Cultural and Community” page will appear in that location. A detailed statement regarding the school’s “commitment to diversity, equity and inclusion” has been removed. That’s why we have multiple web pages and videos about the Gerald Lawson Fund, which was launched in 2021. It is intended to support Black and Indigenous students interested in gaming and technology.
A spokesperson for the Department of Film and Arts said Dean Elizabeth Daly was not available for interviews about DEI-related changes.
Some professors opposed
In an interview, Howard Rodman, a screenwriter and professor at the School of Film and Arts, said he opposed Day’s change.
“I don’t think USC’s strategy is to focus on itself, and not “put your target on your back,” he said. “We’re essentially saying, this is just a change in outward nomenclature that allows us to continue doing good work. For me, this is at best self-related rhetoric. Everything I know about authoritarianism is until small compliance leads to greater compliance, and no longer has my mission or dignity.” ”
The Roski School of Art and Design has removed the detailed “Diversity, Equity, Inclusion” mission statement website. The URL that appeared in mid-January was “Error 404. Sorry, but the page requested cannot be found.”
The school’s dean, Haven Lynn Kirk, did not reply to the interview request. Speaking to the Times, Amelia Jones, Professor Roski and Associate Dean, who called USC’s overall scrubbing “Subattle.”
“I respect what they are doing by trying to maintain the integrity of our education by not causing Trump. [Elon] Musk administration,” Jones said. “In a way, it’s really smart. Who needs it? But in other ways, if no one is going to stand up to this, what are they doing in college anyway? Are we here to secretly do day?”
This month’s Ministry of Education letter suggested that race-themed dorm room floors are illegal, but USC has several “living learning” communities, open to all races – it appears that their business has not changed. The same applies to Latino, black and other race-related graduation events, but the Ministry of Education’s letter states it is “shameful.”
Royel Johnson, an associate professor at the USC Rossier School of Education, said he had never heard instructions for making changes to the DEI. His school still has an associate dean of equity and inclusion, he noted.
“The school can make preemptive changes at this point, as opposed to university mandates, says Johnson, director of the USC Race and Equity Center’s National Assessment of Climate, which studies racial climate on university campus.
“Because there is a very different messaging from the federal government with guidance, letters, executive orders and court cases, most universities stay silent or wait until clear instructions. Some people are renaming and leaning towards “attribution” or “community engagement,” while some places are completely removing the role, which is a shame,” Johnson said.
“But it’s not illegal to do Day’s work. There are federal orders that provide safe spaces. That’s not to say we shouldn’t do Day. But in some cases, the language about Dei should be more specific and refined.”
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