200 years ago to this month, the University held its first classes. The classrooms and Grounds were built and maintained by enslaved laborers. The students were white and male. Much has changed since then, albeit slowly. Slavery was abolished in 1865. The University’s first Black student was admitted in 1950, and the first female students were admitted in 1970. In recent years, the University has become more accessible and equitable than ever, but it has still grappled with contextualizing and counteracting the lingering effects of its oppressive history. This effort suffered a setback last Friday, when the Board of Visitors decided that the University must dissolve its Office of Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Community Partnerships. The Editorial Board condemns this decision.
The Board’s dissolution of the University’s DEI Office was perhaps not a complete shock considering political rumblings. In the past few years, many state governments have worked to consistently undermine the premises of DEI, often violating academic freedom in the process. More recently, DEI efforts have been attacked nationwide, with President Donald Trump issuing numerous executive orders intended to cast into doubt the legal viability of DEI programs, often targeting universities in particular. In the midst of this overwhelming attack, the term DEI has been largely divested of its practical meaning. It has become a nebulous talking point of political agendas, a cudgel used against universities. In this process, the inherently tangible nature of DEI has been fully lost.
However, especially at this University, we cannot forget that diversity, equity and inclusion are not solely abstract values, but rather tangible initiatives which are absolutely integral to the University’s mission and enacted on a daily basis. The Office of Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Community Partnerships was at the forefront of demonstrating these values in a way which materially impacted all community members. In demanding that the University dissolve this office, the Board of Visitors has fully neglected the vital work of this office, instead implying that the work it did was superfluous to University community members. This could not be further from the truth.
Many departments formerly included in the shuttered office were ones which undoubtedly contributed to a thriving University community. The University’s ADA coordinator, who oversees accessibility for students with disabilities, belonged to a division of the DEI Office. Among other critical departments in the DEI Office was the Title IX Office, which protects students from sexual misconduct and gender-based harassment. Destroying these departments’ administrative home sends a clear message to the community that these services, in spite of their obvious benefits, are no longer welcomed by the University.
It is important to note that the effects of the office’s dissolution will not simply affect students. Rather, the impact will reach all of the University’s stakeholders, including the broader Charlottesville community. A significant portion of the office’s work took the form of valuable community partnership programs. These efforts included investment in local non-profit organizations and student-led community mentorship programs. Additionally, the Tribal Relations department of the DEI Office connected local Indigenous voices with the University community, ensuring that the University was conscientious of Indigenous perspectives when making decisions. Rhetorically abandoning these community partnerships — including many people who relied on this work — is directly at odds with the University’s mission to serve Virginia, the nation and the world. By viewing itself in a vacuum, rather than as a community member, the University fundamentally misunderstands its own identity.
In spite of these tangible and communal benefits provided by the Office of Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Community Partnerships, its critics may point to departments such as the Office for Equal Opportunity and Civil Rights when detracting from the office’s mission. Departments like this undeniably aspired to influence hiring decisions with the value of diverse faculty perspectives in mind. But this goal is not unreasonable nor uncommon for a top university, as critics might have you believe. Students pursuing higher education do not expect to learn from professors, or with classmates, who all have similar backgrounds or perspectives. The idea that DEI means sacrificing on merit is particularly flawed in academia because a unique background in a student or professor is a qualification in itself. Abandoning departments such as this may help homogenize the academic environment, but it will not improve it.
In dissolving DEI efforts, the Board erodes the trust between the University and its students and staff. The University community is left in the dark when the University, previously a staunch public defender of DEI, now appears willing to acquiesce in whatever direction the political tide flows. This inconsistency of values is not sustainable or healthy — particularly when following political trends directly conflicts with the University’s mission, which includes fostering a diverse academic environment. Positioning the University at the forefront of the push against DEI may align with Youngkin’s and the Board’s political goals, but it is not the academic victory they claim it to be.
The Board’s statement remains unclear on which, if any, “permissible programs” may be transferred to other divisions rather than being outright disbanded. However, the Board cannot expect to occupy middle ground simply by claiming in its resolution that it “highly values diversity.” Its actions say otherwise. It has shown an abandonment of this mission by dismantling the office under which diversity initiatives were held. At this time, we must take University and state leaders at their word — “DEI is done at the University of Virginia,” Gov. Glenn Youngkin said last Friday. The bottom line is that an institutional shift has occurred. Today, DEI is done at the University — and we are all worse off because of it.
The Cavalier Daily Editorial Board is composed of the Executive Editor, the Editor-in-Chief, the two Opinion Editors, their Senior Associates and an Opinion Columnist. The board can be reached at eb@cavalierdaily.com.
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