Diversity

"Banning DEI policies in higher education directly contradicts their fundamental purpose: to eliminate barriers to equal opportunity and create more equitable academic institutions," the report authors write. "Without these programs, systemic disparities are likely to persist and widen, thereby reinforcing inequities in education, employment, and social mobility."

To comply with the Trump Administration's demands to end DEI-related programs in higher education, the University of Alabama has eliminated Nineteen Fifty-Six, a student-run magazine covering Black student life and culture. The university has also suspended Alice Magazine, another student-run publication regarding fashion and wellness with an emphasis on women.

“The office will help ensure that Rutgers remains an institution that unequivocally rejects discrimination in all its forms and provides those who experience misconduct with meaningful support and clear pathways to resolution,” says President William F. Tate IV.

The Legal Insurrection Foundation, a conservative nonprofit organization, has filed two civil rights complaints against the University of Central Arkansas and the University of California, Los Angeles, respectively. The group claims both universities have promoted discriminatory scholarships, including several awards allocated for African American students.

Overall, 46 percent of U.S. adults support measuring race in federal research, while 33 percent oppose it. Asian and White adults are more likely to support the federal government collecting race-related data, while Black and Hispanic adults are more likely to oppose it.

Some $350 million in grant funding initially allocated for Minority-Serving Institutions – including Predominately Black Institutions – will be redirected to other programs “that do not include discriminatory racial and ethnic quotas,” according to the U.S. Department of Education. Notably, these cuts do not affect federal grant programs allocated for historically Black colleges and universities.

Heterodox Academy, a nonpartisan, nonprofit organization that advocates for increasing “viewpoint diversity” on college campuses, has examined more than 10,000 faculty job ads to analyze the prevalence of requests to include DEI-related materials in faculty applications.

“Across all institution types, [stakeholders] need high-quality data about how students across all racial groups are appraising and experiencing classrooms and out-of-class environments,” the authors write. “Simply conducting climate assessments and having the data are not enough – practitioners must use what they learn to strategically inform policymaking, practice, and curriculum.”

If agencies and institutions use current reporting standards that group all multiracial students into a single category, Black students' reported representation of U.S college students would reflect about 13 percent. However, if multiracial students were counted within each race category they identified with, Black students' representation would jump to 19.7 percent.

The University of Pennsylvania Carey Law School has closed its Office of Equal Opportunity and Engagement. Additionally, the law school is no longer accepting applicants for a scholarship program named for its first Black woman graduate, Sadie Alexander.

Black first-year student applications submitted via Common App grew by 12 percent over the past year. During the 2024-2025 season, Black students represented 14.8 percent of the total applicant pool - a 0.8 percentage point increase from 2023-2024.

“Our hope is that this policy agenda will serve as a rallying point to increase momentum for positive, holistic change,” write the authors of the report from the Congressional Black Caucus and the Joint Center for Political and Economic Studies. “These challenges are not new, and we remain resolute and hopeful that change can and will be achieved.”

Ahead of the fall 2025 semester, the University of California System has released preliminary data on in-state first-year students admitted to its nine undergraduate campuses. Overall, Black students represent 5.9 percent of all in-state admitted students, showing the greatest representation at the Los Angeles campus and the smallest representation at the Santa Barbara campus.

The Joint Center for Political and Economic Studies has released a new report analyzing the Senate Democratic Caucus' latest information on the demographic data of staff members in 2025. Information on the demographics of staff employed in the offices of Republican senators is currently unavailable.

Notably, the authors found that simply increasing corporate board diversity does not necessarily increase workplace safety. However, their research revealed that when diverse directors are in powerful board positions or on key board committee, their firms' workplace safety increases.

Of the 1,244 total top house staff positions, 77 are held by Black Americans, equating to just 6.2 percent of top staffers in personal and committee offices. Over 94 percent of all Black top house staffers are employed by Democratic members.

A new study from scholars at the University of Wisconsin-Madison has found over 82 percent of Americans are in support of diversity and inclusion initiatives in the United States, but just 55 percent think the overall American population is pro-diversity.

Until recently, the College Board has recognized high-achieving Black, Hispanic, and Native American and Indigenous high school students through the National Recognition Program. This year, the program's race-based awards have been eliminated.

"We're not just trying to preserve programs. We're trying to protect the future of higher education," said Dr. Raquel Rall, co-director of the new Center for Strategic and Inclusive Governance.

“The Dr. Thomas D. Wallace Student Success Center shall become the cornerstone for Black student success, a space where academic gaps will be closed, graduation rates will rise, and Black excellence is not only expected but is celebrated every day," said Natasha Harris, director of special programs and student retention initiatives at California State University, Bakersfield.