LSU delivered a report to the Board of Supervisors Friday detailing the university’s efforts to eliminate DEI programming in response to federal orders. Included was an update that the university has removed race and gender requirements for all institutional financial aid and scholarships.
The Board requested this report in October, and a “dear colleague” letter sent from the U.S. Department of Education in February that threatened to withhold federal funding from schools that maintained DEI programs quickened LSU’s process to comply.
The DOE letter directed schools to eliminate all programs that discriminated “on the basis of race, color, or national origin,” calling such programs “illegal and morally reprehensible.”
LSU said that the report was its best “good faith effort” to comply with the Board and DOE’s requirements. The university acknowledged that the “evolving and amorphous definition of DEI” complicated the process, but DEI should now only remain on campus “in archival fashion.”
According to the report, LSU has removed all identity-based requirements for its institutional financial aid. For relevant scholarships provided by outside sponsors, LSU has suspended them while it asks donors if they’d prefer to alter their scholarship’s criteria or pull it altogether, the report said.
Another large part of LSU’s compliance efforts was editing or removing webpages with references to DEI. The university instructed senior colleges to review their pages for DEI content, which resulted in the alteration of mission statements and staff bios, among other things.
Though different senior colleges went about the compliance process differently, many faculty and staff said that they weren’t informed of changes to their personal bio pages or other webpages that concerned them.
Geography professor Andrew Sluyter posted on X, formerly known as Twitter, on Feb. 28 saying LSU deleted a 2022 press release announcing his selection for a Carnegie Fellowship based on his research into racial inequity in higher education.
Though Sluyter told the Reveille he understood that the LSU administration may feel that it has little choice, he was still upset by the decision.
“It’s extremely disturbing and ultimately hurts LSU as a whole rather than me personally,” Sluyter said.
Many other professors around the university agree.
“Censorship does not make our university stronger,” theater professor John Fletcher said. “It does not make education better or more affordable. It weakens our reputation.”
Fletcher said he worried that submitting to this federal order wouldn’t stop future restrictions that could further censor minority viewpoints.
Another webpage affected by the changes was that of the LSU Confidential Supporters under the Office of Civil Rights & Title IX, who serve as a confidential resource for those who’ve experienced sexual or power-based violence. All of the confidential supporters’ bios were deleted, as some contained references to involvement with diverse campus groups or support of certain causes.
One confidential supporter said the bios were important for victims to find someone they might identify with or with whom they might feel more comfortable sharing.
Todd Manuel, vice president of the Division of Engagement, Civil Rights & Title IX, said the bios were deleted because the office in general is “moving away from bios on our websites unless necessary to the job function.”
Research and curriculum that may cover DEI topics won’t be changed by LSU, according to the report, so long as they aren’t “about the promotion of DEI and fell within the scope of the faculty’s area of expertise.”
Political science professor and Faculty Senate President Daniel Tirone said preserving the independence of research and curriculum was particularly important as it’s “directly related to academic freedom, a core tenet of the university.”
The report didn’t say if any changes had been made at the university’s Women’s Center, LGBTQ+ Center and African American Cultural Center. When reached for comment, the Office of Engagement, Civil Rights & Title IX, which oversees the centers, didn’t say how they’d be affected by the DEI rollbacks.
“The centers will continue to support students through programs, events, and initiatives that focus on leadership development, career readiness and workforce development, first year experience/college readiness, and health, safety and wellness,” Manuel said.
LSU also ended separate graduation ceremonies for various minority groups. The annual Lavender Graduation for LGBTQ+ students will continue, put on by student organization Spectrum rather than by the university, Spectrum President Inari Owens said.
Several senior college programs identified as DEI have been altered to now be open to all, like the College of Engineering’s Diversity Initiatives Scholars Workshop Series, which will now be the Professional Development Scholarship Workshop. Another example is the College of Human Sciences and Education’s Call Me MISTER program, which was previously meant to attract male and minority teachers and is now “open to all aspiring teachers.”
The university also said in the report that it’s had to juggle the DEI compliance with maintaining standards for accreditation for access to programs like Pell Grants and the American Bar Association, a concern that was also raised by several professors who spoke to the Reveille.
The Reveille reached out to dozens of professors and administrators who were connected to programs or webpages that could be affected by LSU’s compliance. The majority declined to comment, with several citing concerns about the current political climate.
Though LSU has been focusing on compliance, some in higher education have defied the orders in the “dear colleague” letter. The American Council on Education announced on Feb. 27 that it was joining forces with 60 other higher education associations to call for the letter to be rescinded.
