WICHITA, Kansas — Some University of Kansas students and faculty members are protesting the consolidation of diversity programs on the Lawrence campus.
They say the move is an unnecessary reaction to political pressure from conservative state lawmakers who are pushing to rid colleges of any commitment to diversity, equity and inclusion, or DEI.
“This is overcompliance,” said Monty Coash-Johnson, a KU junior who founded Save Our Centers KU to oppose the merger. “It is essentially saying that KU is scared, so we’re going to work ahead to try and deplete everything (having to do) with DEI.”
KU informed students this month that it’s consolidating several campus organizations into one Student Engagement Center. The new center will combine staff and resources from the Center for Sexuality and Gender Diversity, the Emily Taylor Center for Women and Gender Equity, the Office of Multicultural Affairs and the Student Involvement and Leadership Center.
University leaders said the change is aimed at better accommodating students’ evolving needs.
“This new office will provide expanded support for students of varying identities, interests, and needs,” said Tammara Durham, KU’s vice president for student affairs, in the online announcement.
But opponents say the separate centers helped marginalized students find tailored places where they could feel at home.
“Queer people, women, people of color need these safe spaces that they can go to when they feel like the world is essentially against them,” said Coash-Johnson, who is queer and transgender.
He said KU’s Center for Sexuality and Gender Diversity helped him find friends and navigate campus life when he started college three years ago.
“It was very difficult to find a place I could go to feel safe,” he said. “But I knew that there, I was not going to be attacked for my identity.”
Faculty members from KU’s Department of Women, Gender, and Sexuality Studies also voiced objections to the recent merger of diversity programs. In a letter to university administrators, faculty said the changes “lie in direct opposition to KU’s professed values and mission.”
Public universities across the country are scaling back or eliminating diversity programs as states threaten to withhold funding from schools that support DEI efforts.
Kansas and Missouri are among several states whose public university systems have scrapped the use of diversity statements in employment decisions.
A new Kansas law that went into effect in July bars universities from requiring diversity statements in hiring or admissions. Public universities that violate the law could face fines of up to $10,000.
The Kansas Board of Regents, which oversees state universities and technical colleges, revised policy language that emphasized “multiculturalism and diversity” on campus.
Earlier this year, Wichita State University merged its office of diversity and inclusion into another department.
WSU leaders said the changes weren’t related to legislative pressure, but rather a desire to broaden what diversity means. They said the newly named Office of Student Engagement and Belonging is a more efficient way to approach diversity on campus.
“Inclusion is best when it’s part of the tapestry, woven in and not a separate thought,” said Teri Hall, WSU’s vice president for student affairs.
“What we’re looking at is the breadth and depth of who our students are on our campus, and how do we help them be successful without just looking at certain identity markers?”
Wichita State and other universities are also reviewing scholarships to make sure they attract an inclusive pool of applicants.
Suzanne Perez reports on education for KMUW in Wichita and the Kansas News Service. You can follow her on Twitter @SuzPerezICT.
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