Vitalii Vodolazskyi/Shutterstock
DEI, DEIA, DEIB, DEIAJ…
Acronyms abound when considering the work designed to create spaces of equity, inclusion, access, and belonging predicated upon the existing and sought diversity within higher education.
With the advent of some states creating mandates that are leading to the elimination of DEI positions and the closure of DEI offices in colleges and universities, it is time to think differently about what have been deemed as essential DEI staff, programs, and initiatives, and how (as well as how long) they will exist or, conversely, cease to exist. In a post on the AXIOS website, it was noted that several states — Texas, Iowa, and Utah — have banned DEI offices and initiatives at colleges and universities with Alabama not banning but, for now, restricting certain DEI activities.
With the real possibility of more states imposing bans and restrictions, there are several innovations that are possible for continuity of the work. While there are both positive and negative responses to the discussions surrounding the “dismantling of DEI,” a look backward at DEI’s rapid evolution into varied leadership positions and major units within the academy is appropriate toward continuity of this work in higher education.
In 2020, just months after the murder of George Floyd by Minneapolis police, nationwide protests and responses galvanized by the Black Lives Matter Movement led to a seismic wave in the establishment of DEI positions, offices, and specialized units throughout higher education institutions and corporations. According to a CNN article, “after a more than 29% uptick in job postings [on Indeed] with DEI in the title or description between November 2020 and November 2021, the data shows a more than 23% decline in the amount of job postings with ‘DEI’ in the title or description between November 2022 and November 2023.
In a Wall Street Journal article entitled “They Helped Create DEI — and Even They Say It Needs a Makeover,” Bo Young Lee, former diversity chief with Uber and currently president of AnitaB.org, contends that DEI would benefit from a name change and suggests OAL for opportunity, access, and leadership. Of course, the question becomes what’s in a name or, in this case, an acronym? Obviously, a great deal as we watch DEI program after DEI program meets its demise in the higher education landscape.
How can the work continue that may have been done before the DEI movement and its massive hiring? Think back to the 1960s with the enactment of affirmative action and equal employment laws. In examining the movement from the 1960s up to 2020, higher education leaders can reflect, strategically plan, and innovate upon their equity, inclusion, access, belonging, and justice work. During this sixty-year period, changes were made that were not necessarily nestled under acronyms signaling affirmative action, civil rights, and equal employment laws. Why? In many respects, to remove the barriers toward the capacity to increase opportunity, access, and leadership.
The capacity to work within innovative strategies can lead institutions to effectively achieve stronger outcomes than exist in some current and defunct DEI programs; however, there is no one template for this work. Each institution and its surrounding communities are unique; therefore, the work must be planned strategically in a collaborative and non-isolating manner without acronyms for maximum impact. Put another way, representatives from all sectors of higher education — from leadership to faculty to staff to students and the surrounding community — must be central within the strategic planning work to plan next footsteps into platforms of equity, inclusion, access, belonging, and justice work. It cannot and must not be planned and implemented in isolation by one or more of the aforementioned cohorts toward an expected embrace without integral planning participation by the other cohorts.
Let’s discuss three innovations — align, remove, and increase — that are possible for continuity of the work beyond the use of politically limiting acronyms…
Align the Strategic Plan(s)
Is there a strategic plan for the equity, inclusion, access, belonging, and justice work that aligns with the college/university strategic plan? If not, simple innovation dictates that the creation of an aptly named strategic plan must be a first step minus limiting acronyms yet replete with language that enables work across the levels of equity, inclusion, access, belonging, and justice. Such simple but necessary innovation can support, retain, and increase the efficacy of faculty, staff, and students to achieve the goals articulated in the strategic plan(s).
Remove the Albatross of Acronyms
Your DEI unit may have been dismantled. People may or may not have lost their positions. How does this actually limit the work being accomplished? Instead of bemoaning the absence of centralization, lean forward instead into decentralization. In short, look at your college/university strategic plan and your DEI strategic plan. Refresh the DEI strategic plan minus the acronyms and move the work into all of the existing units at the institution. Put another way, simple reorganization — decentralization — creates a transfer of authority, control, and decision-making from a centralized entity to a larger distributed network enhancing services to all constituent groups.
Increase the Operating Budget
What was the operating budget for this work? Substantial? Or was there little to zero funding specifically allocated to implement the work of equity, inclusion, access, belonging, and justice? Whatever the funding dynamics of your specific institution, think now about seeking grant funding to innovate upon the work in these areas. Funding sources abound for support of this work. Your institution’s Office of Institutional Research should have forward-facing grant information on its webpages; however, if this is not the case, ask office staff for assistance in identifying sources of funding. Next, work with your Office of Sponsored Programs to receive assistance in packaging your proposal toward securing funding. As you approach funding, think strategically about your institution’s needs and the various buckets of funding: general operating support, capital building, professional development, and targeted project support.
How will your institution ‘show up in the world’ and continue its work that may exist (or existed) under a variation of a DEI acronym?
In the imminent dismantling of more physical DEI offices, DEI personnel, and the many created acronyms, innovation is the only way the work will continue.
