On his first day in office, President Donald Trump issued an executive order to terminate diversity, equity and inclusion programs in the federal government, which may affect institutions that receive federal funding through “equity-related grants” — including Duke.
Still, weeks after the order, titled “Ending Radical and Wasteful Government DEI Programs and Preferencing,” was issued, its impact on the University remains unclear.
“There is so much uncertainty surrounding the executive orders that it’s too soon to make recommendations,” wrote Kimberly Hewitt, vice president for institutional equity and chief diversity officer, in a Feb. 1 email to The Chronicle. “… For now, we have suggested that people refrain from making significant changes until we have more time to comprehend the directives and receive further guidance.”
In a second executive order Jan. 21, Trump ordered that all institutions of higher education that receive federal grants receive guidance on how to comply with Students for Fair Admissions v. Harvard College, the 2023 Supreme Court ruling prohibiting universities from practicing race-based affirmative action.
In September, Students for Fair Admissions claimed that it was “prepared to enforce” the ruling against Duke “through litigation” after the Class of 2028’s demographic breakdown showed a six-percentage-point decrease in the proportion of Asian students from the previous year.
The Jan. 21 order also instructed each federal agency to identify “up to nine potential civil compliance investigations,” including “institutions of higher education with endowments over $1 billion.” As of June 2024, Duke’s endowment totaled approximately $11.9 billion.
“As always, I encourage everyone to approach their efforts to promote equity and fairness with careful consideration, evidence-based reasoning and strategic planning that takes everyone in their unit into account,” Hewitt wrote.
The order’s potential impact on Duke comes through federal funding. The University receives hundreds of millions of dollars in funding from agencies and departments including the National Institutes of Health, the Department of Defense, the National Science Foundation and the Department of Energy.
On Jan. 27, Trump directed all federal agencies, via an Office of Management and Budget memo, to freeze the disbursement of federal funds to determine if it aligns with his agenda. A federal judge blocked the freeze after 22 states, including North Carolina, sued the Trump administration.
“These actions impact areas central to Duke’s mission and operations, and we want to assure you that our senior leadership team is actively monitoring the situation and working diligently to assess potential implications,” administrators wrote in a Jan. 28 email to all community members following the funding freeze.
Additionally, the NSF flagged 10,000 research grants for review following Trump’s orders. Nature reported that the grant-flagging process instructed NSF officers to identify language related to climate science, DEI and “broadening participation.” Grants in violation of Trump’s guidelines were to be canceled, archived or modified.
Public and private universities across the country have begun to respond to the executive orders. In late January, Northeastern University shared that it will replace its Office of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion with a new “Office of Belonging.” North Carolina State University announced that all “DEI-specific program activities” must be stopped for programs that mention the terms diversity, equity and inclusion in its solicitation or proposal.
The Chronicle’s April 2024 faculty survey found that nearly half of Duke faculty members believe that Duke puts “too much” emphasis on DEI, while about a quarter of faculty believe the emphasis is “not enough.”
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Claire Chen is a Trinity first-year and a staff reporter for the news department.