Universities Dismantled DEI Without a Fight. Now They Owe Students Action.

Bonnie Jean Feldkamp
Thu, 26 Feb 2026 21:00:00 -0800
Opinion

Last year, following Trump's anti-DEI executive order, the Department of Education sent a letter to educational institutions. It began "Dear Colleagues," and threatened to withhold federal funds from institutions that did not gut their diversity, equity and inclusion objectives, claiming they were illegal. Last week, the letter was invalidated in court. However, the damage is already done thanks to universities that scrambled to comply when they should have stood firm.

This debate is nothing new. Critical Race Theory was the big fear of 2021. The U.S. Supreme Court effectively repealed affirmative action in college admissions with its 2023 ruling, which spurred the denouncement of all things diversity, equity and inclusion. Piece by piece, anything equitable in American education is being chipped away, dialed back or dismantled.

That's how change happens, good or bad, with a chip, a chip, a chip, then a fall.
Updated: Fri Feb 27, 2026

Last year, following Trump's anti-DEI executive order, the Department of Education sent a letter to educational institutions. It began "Dear Colleagues," and threatened to withhold federal funds from institutions that did not gut their diversity, equity and inclusion objectives, claiming they were illegal. Last week, the letter was invalidated in court. However, the damage is already done thanks to universities that scrambled to comply when they should have stood firm.

This debate is nothing new. Critical Race Theory was the big fear of 2021. The U.S. Supreme Court effectively repealed affirmative action in college admissions with its 2023 ruling, which spurred the denouncement of all things diversity, equity and inclusion. Piece by piece, anything equitable in American education is being chipped away, dialed back or dismantled.

That's how change happens, good or bad, with a chip, a chip, a chip, then a fall.

Trump's Department of Education hoped the fall of DEI would come with its "Dear Colleague" letter. But the administration pushed its anti-DEI agenda beyond the legal limits.

The American Civil Liberties Union immediately challenged the letter in court and got a preliminary injunction to block the threats from being enforced while the case proceeded. In October 2025, a U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland said the letter violated the Administrative Procedure Act and violated the First Amendment.

Meanwhile, state legislatures targeted publicly funded higher education and pushed through racist anti-DEI laws. Universities across the country went above and beyond to fall in line. The Chronicle of Higher Education, which has been tracking the dismantling of diversity, equity and inclusion efforts since 2023, stated that "The pace of change ramped up in 2025," following political pressure.

As of this writing, The Chronicle has tracked changes at 439 campuses in 48 states and the District of Columbia.

In my community, the University of Louisville canceled a graduation ceremony for LGBTQ graduates; eliminated four identity-based employee groups; renamed its Department of Inclusive Excellence to the Office of Access and Opportunity; and dissolved its Commission on the Status of Women and the Commission on Diversity and Racial Equity.

In Michigan, the University of Michigan closed its Office of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion and its Office for Health Equity and Inclusion.

The University of Virginia's Board of Visitors similarly voted to close their university's Office of Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Community Partnerships.

How has the university or college in your community reacted to anti-DEI pressure? And for what?

The "Dear Colleagues" letter is dead. In January, the government quietly withdrew its appeal. Last week, a U.S. District Court determined that the letter was legally void, and it cannot be enforced. The Department of Education's threats were deemed illegal and unconstitutional.

The question now becomes, how will these 439 universities respond? Will they reinstate the faculty, scholarships, programming and funding they undermined and removed? Will they lead the charge with legal action against any state anti-DEI laws and challenge the fact that these laws now stand in direct conflict with federal law? Will these institutions apologize to the students who have lost confidence in and support from universities they once considered safe as learning spaces for everyone?

Or will they shrug their shoulders and say, "What's done is done" and continue on without rectifying anything because they complied in advance?

Our children deserve better from our institutions of higher education, and administrators must be held accountable. Families, students and communities need to question every course of action. Universities have to acknowledge the harm done and the time and money wasted, and restore what they have dismantled. The "Dear Colleague" letter served as an important test. One that institutions of higher education have failed miserably. Now it must also serve as a wake-up call.