INDIANAPOLIS — Governor Mike Braun released a report on his administration’s progress to replace the DEI (Diversity, Equity and Inclusion) with MEI (Merit, Excellence, and Innovation) on Wednesday, according to his office.
This report is the fulfillment of the Governor’s directive in his January 14, 2025, executive order.
“Indiana has replaced the divisive, politically-charged DEI ideology with Merit, Excellence, and Innovation: a level playing field where every single Hoosier has the chance to get ahead with hard work,” Governor Mike Braun said in the news release.
The administration said the executive order directed executive state agencies to review their DEI positions, departments, activities, procedures, and programs for compliance with the decision in Students for Fair Admissions, Inc. v. President and Fellows of Harvard College, a landmark Supreme Court case regarding race-based admissions and an update on how those programs have been revised or eliminated to comply with the executive order.
Governor Braun is releasing that report today, which outlines:
- 350+ examples of DEI initiatives in state government programs.
- 70 cases of DEI training, instruction, or programing for state employees which have been eliminated.
- Hundreds of hours of time that will no longer be spent on DEI trainings and can now be spent on serving Hoosier taxpayers.
- 34 grants within Indiana State Agencies that were conditioned on diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives, which all Hoosiers can now compete for.
- 200 DEI initiatives in state agency policy and procedures which will now prioritize the values of merit, excellence, and innovation that bring us together rather than the things that divide us.
The full report can be found HERE.
