This story was reported and written by VPM News.
After the U.S. Department of Education sent a letter in February saying funding could be rescinded if schools don’t adhere to Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, at least two Virginia universities have adjusted how they approach diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives.
Title VI prohibits discrimination based on certain protected characteristics — including race, color and national origin — in any program or activity receiving federal funding.
Because of the DOE letter and other guidance from President Donald Trump’s administration, the University of Virginia’s Board of Visitors voted last week to close its DEI office. The decision doesn’t necessarily mean staff will be laid off or that the office’s work will not continue.
The resolution dissolving the DEI office states that all legally permissible programs, research and activities should proceed as normal — though it’s not clear what the board will consider to be legally permissible.
A UVA spokesperson told VPM News in a statement that the office houses “several important functions, including the Office for Equal Opportunity and Civil Rights, Title IX compliance, the UVA Tribal Liaison, and the University’s Office for Community Partnerships.”
The spokesperson wrote that UVA’s administration will “review the functions of the office, and all personnel and programs that are permissible under state and federal law will be transferred within the University.”
UVA President Jim Ryan will report back to the Board of Visitors on compliance in 30 days, per the board’s directive.
According to UVA’s statement, the university “highly values diversity, including diversity of thought and experience, and fosters an inclusive environment, encouraging a culture of opportunity for all,” which will guide changes going forward.
A majority of the university’s board was appointed by Gov. Glenn Youngkin, who in response to the BOV vote called the move “common sense.”
“DEI is done at the University of Virginia,” Youngkin said. “We stand for the universal truth that everyone is created equal, and opportunity is at the heart of Virginians’ and Americans’ future.”
Both Youngkin and Trump have referred to “illegal” DEI programs. However, University of South Carolina law professor Derek Black said there's nothing illegal or unconstitutional about having a DEI office.
He and a handful of other law professors drafted a memo arguing legal precedent allows universities to engage in DEI and related efforts. Federal litigation has been filed by multiple groups — including the American Association of University Professors — to block Trump’s DEI-related orders.
Black said he expects further litigation making Title VI and First Amendment arguments.
“Ultimately, there's the law, and then there's what the [Trump] administration is suggesting and doing, and there's a big gap between them,” Black told VPM News. “We're really at this moment in which universities and school districts have to make decisions about whether they are going to stand on principle and exert their constitutional rights, or are they going to be bullied around or scared by an administration that consistently and persistently misstates the law?”
Black said a DEI office and its actions could only be considered illegal if they create a hostile environment, discriminate against students, deny opportunities to students based upon race or make opportunities available based upon race alone.
He said the Trump administration misinterpreted findings of a 2023 United States Supreme Court ruling in a case regarding Harvard’s admissions policy. Black said the court “did not question the validity and legitimacy of pursuing diversity, equity and inclusion.”
Black said the administration has also tried to make the argument that race-neutral attempts to achieve diversity are unconstitutional — an argument he said was made in a recent case about admissions to a Virginia governor’s school. The argument was rejected by the Fourth Circuit, and the U.S. Supreme Court refused to take the case.
In Northern Virginia, the URL for George Mason University’s DEI website now redirects to the Office of Access, Compliance and Community. An archived version of the DEI site displays similar content.
Stephanie Aaronson, deputy vice president of communications at GMU, told VPM News in an email that the school had been working on the name change since a review of the school’s DEI policies last year. The school, she wrote, “will continue to ensure that we comply with all legal mandates from the federal government.”
Aaronson also pointed to a March 3 statement from GMU President Gregory Washington.
“As of [Feb. 28], the Office for Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion was updated to the Office of Access, Compliance, and Community,” Washington wrote. “This is a more specific and intuitively accurate reflection of its charter. It is not an attempt to evade compliance through clever wordsmithing – it simply affirms our actual compliance through more precise naming.”
The statement goes on to say that the concept of DEI is increasingly being “misunderstood and misapplied,” and while the school’s DEI office has been renamed, its work will continue.
On Monday, the DOE also sent a letter to 60 colleges and universities across the country — including GMU and UVA — warning them of “potential enforcement actions if they do not fulfill their obligations under Title VI of the Civil Rights Act to protect Jewish students on campus.”
The Trump administration last week announced it will cancel $400 million in grants and contracts to Columbia University “due to the school’s continued inaction in the face of persistent harassment of Jewish students.”
Sean McGoey, Meghin Moore and Dave Cantor contributed reporting.
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