“Last week, @RealChrisRufo said incoming U of Florida President Santa Ono crushed DEI as President of the U of Michigan,” conservative activist Karlyn Borysenko posted to X on Wednesday. “So, how did I record a ‘gender & sexuality’ librarian from Michigan two days ago talking about pushing DEI on campus, organizing with students explicitly?”
UM announced in March it would shutter its DEI office, and the Office for Health Equity and Inclusion, shifting resources to “other offices focused on student access and opportunity.”
University officials also ditched UM’s DEI 2.0 Strategic Plan and expanded a decision to end DEI for faculty hiring to all decisions on academics, hiring, promotions, awards, annual reviews and other assessments.
Officials justified the decision by pointing to executive orders from President Donald Trump on DEI, a Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals decision upholding enforcement of those orders, and a Dear Colleague Letter from the U.S. Department of Education a month prior that highlighted the U.S. Supreme Court’s 2023 decision striking down race-based affirmative action.