Commentary
The Trump administration has marked a turning point in the battle over diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) in higher education, transforming what had long been an institutional orthodoxy into a contentious national and international debate.
Two executive orders—”Ending Radical and Wasteful Government DEI Programs and Preferencing” and “Ending Illegal Discrimination and Restoring Merit-Based Opportunity”—directly targeted DEI initiatives within federal agencies and extended these restrictions to private organizations receiving federal contracts.
Though limited in scope, these orders wield significant influence over American universities, which depend heavily on federal grants, student financial aid, and research funding. This reliance reveals the academic bureaucracy’s soft underbelly: its reliance on public funding….