The Idaho State Board of Education announced its resolutions to remove Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) programs from Idaho institutions at its special board meeting on Nov. 21 but did not vote on them. This left University of Idaho faculty, staff and students in confusion regarding the future of DEI on campus.
In preparation for the State Board’s resolutions regarding DEI passing, UI held a closed-door meeting on Nov. 18 with the people who would be affected from the Office of Multicultural Affairs, the Diversity Center, the Black and African American Cultural Center, the LGBTQA Lounge and the Women’s Center. At the meeting, UI announced plans to close the offices by the end of the year.
Josie Gaturutura, the ASUI Director of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion and a member of the first cohort of the Black and African American Cultural Center, was one of the students at that meeting and said the news was heartbreaking when it was announced.
“These spaces did nothing but foster a community for people to feel safe in and have never excluded anyone from joining and being a part of their community,” Gaturutura said. “It’s unfortunate that [the Idaho] legislature is putting pressure on higher education without taking the time to see the programs themselves and see the many students these programs were benefiting.”
Because UI discussed their plans to close DEI offices by the end of the semester to select staff and students, those who were alerted were confused when no announcement of the closure of DEI programs was made on Nov. 21 after the board meeting. As a result, student clubs Movimiento Activista Social (MAS) and UNITY held an impromptu public meeting on that night.
At the meeting, Blaine Eckles, the Vice Provost for Student Affairs and Dean of Students and Yolanda Bisbee, the Chief Diversity Officer and the Executive Director of Tribal Relations, explained the situation and answered questions.
According to Eckles, UI was expecting the State Board to vote on the DEI resolutions at the Nov. 21 meeting. Instead, the resolutions were discussed by board members before they concluded that they needed to further communicate with Idaho institution presidents to better define what DEI means.
One of the State Board’s resolutions that would directly ban DEI says, “Institutions shall ensure that no central office, policy, procedure, or initiative is dedicated to diversity, equity and inclusion, except as required for athletic compliance, academic program-specific accreditation, academic research, academic instruction, eligibility for federal grants and programs and scholarships.”
Eckles and Bisbee claimed UI preemptively planned to close its DEI offices prior to the State Board passing its DEI resolutions in anticipation of resolutions and laws being passed in Idaho that aim to prohibit DEI.
“The university’s been in conversations with State Board members as well as legislative members that have been talking about this. We don’t want to wait for something to get enacted,” Eckles said. “It’s about controlling your future in where you want to go. I’ll be honest, they can pass a law that literally fires all the people in the [equity and diversity] units, and we would not have any way to support them.”
At the meeting Bisbee explained that the plan was to create a new student engagement center with a first-generation support component to it and a cohort system proven to be successful within DEI offices. The first-generation student success unit was announced by UI on Nov. 14 with no indication it was related to the closure of DEI programs.
The latest announcement regarding DEI made by UI on Nov. 22 states, “Because the university does not want to act too quickly or take actions that do not meet the expectations of our board, we have not and will not move forward with the closure of any units until we can be sure of such alignment. We need to proceed in a way that allows us to provide quality support services for our students while meeting the requirements of the resolutions.”
The State Board will meet again on Dec. 18. More information regarding the future of DEI at UI is expected to be known after that meeting.
“We recognize this uncertainty is challenging and frustrating, but it is important that we end up in the best place possible for our students and employees,” the latest announcement said. “We will continue to keep you updated as these conversations take place.”