LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Some are calling it a flip-flop, referring to the decisions by the University of Kentucky, Brown-Forman, Ford Motor Company and others to dissolve their Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) programs.
Northern Kentucky University is the latest institution in the state to disband its Office of Inclusive Excellence, amid pressure from Republican lawmakers.
It comes a week after UK made a similar move, drawing praise from GOP leaders like House Speaker David Osborne (R-Prospect), who predicted more universities would follow UK's lead.
"I think it made them look inside their own operations and find some efficiencies -- find some better ways to do it -- and I'm glad that they're making those changes on their own," Osborne told WHAS11.
Last week, UK President Eli Capilouto announced the university would be disbanding their Office for Institutional Diversity, saying they've listened to policymakers who believe DEI efforts suppress student discussion and opportunity.
"How do we create space for divergent points of view, or do we too often place ourselves in an ideological bubble that shuts out other perspectives?" Capilouto said in a prepared video statement published by the university on August 20. "In creating the perception that we have centralized so much of our work around inclusion in one office, do we undermine the idea that creating a sense of belonging is a responsibility we all share -- everywhere -- on this campus."
University of Louisville Pan-African studies professor Ricky L. Jones is blasting the moves made to dial back DEI initiatives, saying it pushes Kentucky and the whole country backward.
"What it tells you is that the country is tilting more and more in a direction that is not friendly to people who don't belong to a particular group," he told WHAS 11 on Friday. "With [UK] caving, being the flagship university in the state, you knew that other schools were going to follow and do the same thing."
Jones says institutions and companies have gone back on promises made after the 2020 racial justice protests, citing their commitments then to "do better."
"You saw those statements," he said. "[This is] telling you they lied to you in 2020."
Meanwhile, UK senior Abbey Cutrer suggests the University's move may not be exactly what it appears to be on the surface.
"Essentially, he is taking the word diversity and replacing it with community," said Cutrer, who's also the editor-in-chief at the Kentucky Kernel, the student-run newspaper at UK. "And so there's not a lot of huge changes that are actually being made, fundamentally. There are some office shifts, and there are some trainings that are no longer required."
She's referencing UK's newly created Office for Community Relations.
A University spokesperson confirmed to WHAS11 that no one lost their jobs in this move.
As part of UK's decision, it will no longer mandate diversity training and it won't put required diversity statements in hiring or student applications.
Two state bills to effectively ban DEI programs in colleges failed to pass earlier this year.
Will 2025 be different?
"Certainly, it will be part of the conversation," Osborne said. "Again, I think part of it will be how much organic change are we going to see."
UK alum Kristian Dudgeon is also weighing in, telling WHAS11, "My time at UK would not have been enjoyable if it weren’t for the safe spaces cultivated under the banner and guidance of the Institutional DEI office. With its elimination, I fear that the racism that has always lurked in the shadows of UK will now be brought to the forefront."
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