BLOOMINGTON — Indiana University has officially closed the Office of the Vice President for Diversity, Equity and Inclusion effective immediately, according to a press release on Thursday.
In the statement, the school said this decision ensures IU complies with state and federal laws regarding diversity and inclusion.
Additionally, the Office of Institutional Equity has been renamed the Office of Civil Rights Compliance. The school said the new name better reflects its role in ensuring that IU follows federal civil rights laws.
The Office of the Vice President for Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion website has already been removed from the Internet. Remnants of the website still remain through use of an internet archive service.
According to the now-deleted website, OVPDEI assisted more than 8,000 IU students every semester and conducted more than 12,000 mentoring and tutoring sessions every year.
"IU will continue to affirm its fundamental goal of ensuring every student is equipped to thrive — in the classroom and after graduation," read the release.
IU is not alone in this shift; other Indiana universities are making similar changes. For instance,Ball State University ended its DEI programs in April. This trend follows a February "Dear Colleague" letter from the Department of Education, which instructed educational institutions receiving federal funds to cease using race as a factor in admissions, hiring, and other policies.
