Did Universities Really End DEI? New Reports Suggest Otherwise

William A. Jacobson’s team at Critical Race.org has released a pair of reports examining how colleges and universities have responded to anti-DEI reforms over the past several years. DEI is diversity, equity, and inclusion, which claims “to promote the fair treatment and full participation of all people, particularly groups who have historically been underrepresented, marginalized, or subject to discrimination based on identity or disability.”

However, quite the opposite has taken place.

The Globe has covered Jacobson’s Equal Protection Project’s previous work exposing California colleges’ and universities’ discriminatory DEI policies, as well as the federal action taken against them.

In February 2026, the Globe reported on a civil rights complaint submitted pursuant to the U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights discrimination complaint resolution procedures, on behalf of the Equal Protection Project of the Legal Insurrection Foundation, a non-profit that, among other things, seeks to ensure equal protection under the law and opposes unlawful discrimination in all forms.

There are more than 40 “Black Registered Student Organizations at UC Berkeley,” the website says. The Latinx Student Resource Center the UCBerkeley website reveals the center is a campus space dedicated to the academic, social, emotional, cultural, and professional development of Chicanx/Latinx students at UC Berkeley. There is even a Chicanx Latinx Graduation Celebration.

DEI Rebranding

The findings of Jacobsen’s latest report charge that while many institutions publicly dismantled or restructured DEI offices, many of the underlying programs, initiatives, trainings, and priorities remain intact under new names such as “Inclusive Excellence,” “Access,” “Opportunity,” “Belonging,” and “Community Impact.”

Have universities actually eliminated DEI infrastructure, or have many merely rebranded it?

In one example, a university employee described the approach rather bluntly: “No, you can still do it, you just have to be creative.”

This is just progressive American higher education trying to “wait out” the Trump Administration with the hope that future administrations will revert back to the DEI industrial complex.

Title VI prohibits intentional discrimination on the basis of race, color, or national origin in any “program or activity” that receives federal financial assistance.

This brings us to the new reports – here are a few highlights:

Swarthmore College deleted all references to the former Office of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion from its website, only to offer many of the same programs under the new “Office of Inclusive Excellence.” Programs such as “Community Conversations” still invite students to discuss topics of “access, diversity, equity, inclusion, intercultural understanding, social justice, and civic and social responsibility.” 

The University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign is in the process of rebranding its Office of the Vice Chancellor for Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion as the Office of the Vice Chancellor for Access, Civil Rights, and Community, but denies that the office’s mission will change. Currently, the office provides training for students on topics related to diversity, equity, and inclusion, and it also organizes programs such as Antiracism Initiatives, LGBTQ support services, and Undocumented Student Ally training.

Other universities, after an initial facade of abiding by federal mandates, are more obstinate in their DEI efforts. The University of Utah, North Carolina A&T State, and the University of Virginia have all been recently caught in undercover investigations admitting to maintaining DEI programs in spite of the Trump administration. 

When discussing the DEI crackdown, the Assistant Director of the Office of Intercultural Engagement at North Carolina A&T State University, Pascha Miller, was captured on undercover video admitting that programs were being renamed to avoid falling under DEI restrictions. 

“It shook things up around here, but fortunately for us, this office is not actually under the DEI office at all, so we’re able to just keep going,” said Miller. 

“We just like switched up our, you know, changed the wording of things.”

Even after the undercover video and supposed rollback, North Carolina A&T State was still found to be housing DEI programs under its Office of Intercultural Engagement. “LGBT” programs such as “Safe Zone Training” and “Lavender Graduations” can still be found at the Office of Intercultural Engagement.

“The DEI industrial complex is running from Critical Race Theory and it’s offspring, DEI, said William Jacobsen, critical race.org founder. “They can run but we are making sure they can’t hide.”

“At the Equal Protection Project we legally challenge DEI civil rights violations. We will not let up, no matter how they wordsmith what they are doing.”

“Since we launched Criticalrace.org several years ago, we’ve watched universities boast of their critical race activities on campus, then after major public backlash during the COVID years, only to move everything into ‘equity’ and ‘diversity’ offices,” said Kemberlee Kaye, critical race.org Managing Editor.

 “Once we began exposing those goings on, we’ve watched them again change course. There have been many iterations of what we hare calling ‘rebranding.’ This is just one. We will not stop monitoring how higher education handles their diversity soups and will continue to make the public and other stakeholders aware of what is happening at the places where we send our young people.”

“We now have a record higher education’s efforts to rebrand their DEI activities (and everything else they do in the diversity alphabet),” Kaye continued. “Were their policies and initiatives publicly popular, they wouldn’t have to continue shuffling them to various offices around campus.”

“No parent sends their child to college so they can learn to hate their family, their country, and themselves. Diversity, critical theory, communism — all are poor ideologies based on emotional immaturity, not on fact or personal responsibility. They seek to destroy every single thing that has worked to make America the one place on Earth everyone desires to come to,” Kaye added.

Criticalrace.org has cataloged over 700 institutions of higher education, including medical schools, with DEI activities, Critical Race Theory-related concepts, mandatory trainings, curriculum elements, and related initiatives.

“In this report we dug through our database, exploring which states have taken action against DEI and the responses of the larger schools in those states.”

States that have Enacted DEI Laws

• Alabama, Florida, Texas, Idaho, Kansas, Utah, Iowa, Tennessee, South Dakota, North Dakota, and Oklahoma
• The severity of the laws vary from state to state
• More than a dozen additional states have pending DEI legislation

Highlights of School Responses (Schools in States with DEI Laws)

• A common sentiment throughout Universities is the statement of a University of Texas Tyler employee who said, “No, you can still do it, you just have to be creative” regarding DEI practices at the school.
• University of Alabama President Stuart. R. Bell stated, “Our mission has not wavered, and we remain committed to our institutional goals to welcome all, serve all, and see all thrive and succeed.”
• University of North Dakota – Tamba-Kuii Bailey, special assistant to the president for diversity & inclusion at UND stated, “We will continue to make sure we’re being thoughtful and continue to do the work as it relates to diversity, equity and inclusion that we need to do here, at UND.”
• Texas A&M President Welsh stated, “Diversity of thought is a cornerstone of great universities, and quite frankly, it’s a key ingredient.

Rebranding and Continuation of DEI Programs (Schools in States with DEI Laws)

• University of Alabama – Disbanded its DEI office and launched the Division of Opportunities, Connections, and Success. Additionally, at its Birmingham campus, the Office of Access and Engagement will replace the DEI office, with seemingly the same goals.
• Florida State University – The Office of Equal Opportunity Compliance and Engagement was activated in October 2023 to replace the DEI office.
• University of Idaho – The Office of Equity and Diversity is still operating which offers “presentations and workshops” that explore various diversity issues.
• Idaho State University – The University has an Office of Equity and Inclusion and a Diversity Resource Center
• University of Iowa – The Office of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion will be renamed to the Division of Access, Opportunity, and Diversity
• University of Kansas – Still has a DEI mission and DEI vision on its website and states that it prioritizes a curriculum “that emphasizes equitable and inclusive learning and classroom environments, approaches, and content.”
• North Dakota State University – A list of DEI trainings is available online, which includes training on Gender Equity and Allyship, microaggression, and Safe-Zone, among others.
• University of North Dakota – There are many DEI resources available through the Office of Diversity and Inclusion including a cultural diversity scholarship, land acknowledgment, and bias incident reporting. The Hilyard Center provides support for students who hold “historically excluded identities.”
• Oklahoma State University – The Office of Institutional Diversity was renamed the Division of Access and Community Impact.
• South Dakota State University – The Diversity, Inclusion, Equity, and Access Office was renamed the Opportunity Center. The School of Communication and Journalism still has a DEI plan and statement online. 
• University of South Dakota – The Center for Diversity and Community was renamed the Opportunity Center in 2022. The Office of Multicultural Affairs was also launched under the new Opportunity Center. Inclusivity and belonging are essential goals of the office. 
• University of Memphis – Many Departments have centers for Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion. There is also a Center for Workplace Diversity and Inclusion. 

As for the new civil rights discrimination complaint against UC Berkeley, the U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights has assigned a case number and opened an inquiry. No final resolution or closure letter has been publicly reported yet. UC Berkeley has downplayed it in some coverage, and the university generally maintains its programs comply with anti-discrimination laws. The Equal Protection Project continues to track and publicize these efforts.