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The University of Michigan’s extensive DEI program faces potential dismantling, as the board of regents reportedly requests President Santa Ono to either defund or restructure the office, with a decisive vote scheduled for December 5.
Faculty Senate Chair Rebekah Modrak informed members through an email about this development, stating “I write to share information with you about impending threats to the University of Michigan’s DEI programming and core values of diversity, equity, and inclusion.”
The most popular reader response (upvoted 3429 times) to the New York Times Magazine essay on DEI at UMich:
“If someone wanted to find a way to destroy American universities, they wouldn't be able to find a better tool than D.E.I. An enormous bureaucracy that drains resources… pic.twitter.com/39QpWjjDPq
— Steve McGuire (@sfmcguire79) November 27, 2024
The scrutiny intensified following a New York Times exposé highlighting the program’s shortcomings despite substantial financial investment. According to the Times, “In recent years, as D.E.I. programs came under withering attack, Michigan has only doubled down on D.E.I., holding itself out as a model for other schools.”
Since 2016, the university invested $250 million in DEI initiatives, yet campus climate reportedly deteriorated. The program employs nearly 250 staff members, with an annual cost of $30.68 million and average salaries reaching $96,400, according to American Enterprise Institute scholar Mark Perry.
Manhattan Institute’s John Sailer told the Daily Caller News Foundation, “I think that across the ideological spectrum both regular citizens and policymakers have really shifted on issues of identity politics.”
The situation escalated following Hamas’ October 7 attack on Israel, which triggered campus protests resulting in multiple arrests. Trump’s reelection further influenced this shift in perspective.
The New York Times Magazine has a long investigation of DEI efforts at my alma mater, the University of Michigan.
They conclude that such investments at @UMich have proved to be an abject failure.
The @nytimes piece notes:
"Michigan has poured a staggering quarter of a billion… pic.twitter.com/naERbVKQRd
— Jesse Arm (@Jesse_Leg) October 16, 2024
“I think now every elected official is aware that there’s something of a popular mandate to reform higher education, and that mandate existed before Trump was elected in 2024, but there’s also a kind of popular rebuke of the progressive identity politics,” Sailer explained.
Michigan’s case stands out as unique, with its Democrat-controlled board considering this significant change. Sailer noted this development’s potential influence: “It could be just a massive step towards broader higher education reform.”
The university administration and Board of Regents haven’t yet responded to requests for comment regarding these developments.
