Michigan State University will no longer use DEI statements in hiring, promotion or tenure decisions.
MSU Interim Provost Thomas Jeitschko recently sent a memo to staff stating DEI statements are being removed — in part to comply with federal requirements, WILX reported.
MSU Spokesperson Amber McCann told the news outlet MSU never had an official policy requiring DEI statements as part of its tenure review process. But the university’s strategic plan had been cited in the past when faculty were asked to submit DEI statements, the Lansing State Journal reported, adding that plan “has been removed from the university’s website.”
What’s more, the “university’s 2021 DEI plan also is no longer available online.”
McCann told the Journal both the DEI and strategic plan are under review and will be updated. There are also no current plans to shutter or change MSU’s 50-year-old Office of Institutional Diversity and Inclusion, she told the newspaper.
The news comes four months after the University of Michigan shut down its DEI office and discontinued its DEI plan, and eight months after UMich stopped requiring DEI statements in hiring.
In February, President Trump’s education department threatened to cut funding to schools with DEI departments.
“If an educational institution treats a person of one race differently than it treats another person because of that person’s race, the educational institution violates the law,” stated Craig Trainor, acting assistant secretary for civil rights.
As The College Fix reported last month, while many universities, 78, closed their DEI offices in the wake of the threat, a large chunk — 87 — opted to rename or revamp them, but kept a lot of the same employees and goals. In some cases, there were a few staff reassignments and other bureaucratic shuffling, such as integration into other departments.
MORE: Ed Dept. threatens to cut federal funds of universities with DEI programs
IMAGE CAPTION & CREDIT: Michigan State University from above / YouTube screenshot