Many Ohio colleges began distancing themselves from diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) work long before state lawmakers renewed calls to ban those efforts to eliminate so-called liberal bias on campuses.
Senate Bill 1, introduced last month, proposes many changes. The list includes mandating an American civics course for graduation and making faculty publicly share their class syllabi.
If passed, the bill also would end any current and future DEI efforts. It coincides with a similar move President Donald Trump is making at a federal level.
Ohio lawmakers proposed a similar bill in 2023, but the new one is even broader. Though it has not passed yet, its content appears to have sparked some changes in diversity practices at Ohio’s universities.
Plus, even before this bill was introduced, an analysis by Signal Ohio shows administrators at several colleges already revised wording, shut down offices and eliminated programs.
Records show Akron hoped to downplay DEI office name change
University of Akron officials said they’re editing some DEI-related sections of their website. They declined to specify the number of changes across the university, adding that they’ve been reviewing materials since last January after receiving a “directive” from the state attorney general’s office.
Records requested by Signal Ohio show the university hoped to downplay a recent move to rename the department overseeing DEI work to the Office of Community Engagement, Opportunity, and Belonging.
Gwyneth Price, Akron’s senior vice provost, pushed other high-level administrators to acknowledge the change in a Jan. 27 email, records show.
“I’ve had several emails and phone calls asking what happened? When did this occur? When were they gonna tell us? How does this overlap with other things,” Price wrote. “It took place so fast and the web/social got changed so quickly (kudos to the team), but I think we at least need to communicate out that there was a change (I think people will know why).”
In a statement about recent changes, officials said they’re still dedicated to creating a “safe, inclusive and equitable learning environment.” But, they wrote, the school must “continue to do so in the context of a state institution that is required to abide by law and regulations at both the federal and state levels, from which we receive funding.”
There have been other shifts, too.
Akron offered a program for Black male students as recently as 2023. It was advertised as a “structured learning community experience targeting incoming first year male students through a year-long experience focusing on leadership, responsibility and academic achievement,” according to an archived website.
That program is now gone. Instead, two other support systems are in its place. That includes one for students looking for a “fresh start” after high school as well as another for students who are the first in their family to go to college.
Kent State University ends DEI division, still offers training sessions
Like Akron, Kent State University scrapped its standalone DEI department. The university merged it with its human resources office, forming a new Division of People, Culture, and Belonging in 2023.
Akron and Kent State are not alone. Almost every public university in Ohio – and several private colleges – no longer explicitly use the term diversity, equity and inclusion or the acronym for cabinet-level positions.
Kent State still offers some relevant training opportunities for staff and students. An online list shows workshops centered on how to recognize bias as well how to make hiring practices more inclusive.
Officials seemed to acknowledge those activities would end if Senate Bill 1 passes.
“While we continue to offer a variety of voluntary educational sessions geared toward creating a kind, respectful and welcoming environment… Kent State will comply with any state law when passed,” officials told Signal Ohio via email.
Bowling Green State University ends diversity committee, University of Toledo closes DEI office
Last June, trustees at Bowling Green State University ended its Diversity and Belonging Committee. It folded that committee’s work into an existing committee focusing on academic affairs and student success. It was part of a broader streamlining effort across all of the board’s committees, according to board of trustee meeting minutes.
Nearby, the University of Toledo closed its DEI office around that same time. Related training and resources would instead be folded into other offices across the campus, per a news release.
Officials there haven’t responded to Signal Ohio’s requests about what changes it is considering to the university’s annual “Womxn of Color Symposium.” That event has happened each spring for the past six years.
It’s billed as a professional development event for “women/identified UToledo employees and students of color, as well as the broader community.”
Critics say S.B. 1 language is vague
Senate Bill 1 would also shut down administrative-level DEI offices, prohibit schools from creating new ones and end any related training. New scholarship offerings wouldn’t be able to use diversity, equity and inclusion “in any manor.”
Critics say the bill’s vague language could lead to the elimination of departments and programs. They also warned scholarships for female students and students of color could disappear. Others wondered what it would do to programs that help veterans, disabled students and those with special needs go to college.
Lawmakers don’t give an explicit definition of DEI in the legislation, but it does say colleges can’t work with consultants promoting admissions or hiring based on “race, ethnicity, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, or gender expression.”
Most of Ohio’s public colleges never considered race in admissions even before the Supreme Court ruled in 2023 doing so is unconstitutional.
Signal Akron’s Arielle Kass contributed reporting to this story.
