West Virginia University announced on Thursday, Jan. 30, 2025, that it is shutting down its Division of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion. (Lexi Browning | West Virginia Watch)
West Virginia University is shutting down its Division of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion following Gov. Patrick Morrisey’s ban on state funds for entities using the diversity initiatives.
The closure was announced Jan. 30 in a memo shared with faculty, staff and students.
The university will open a new unit, the WVU Division of Campus Engagement and Compliance, with a “redefined mission,” according to the memo.
“This unit will focus on ensuring the university adheres to federal and state guidance and fulfilling the needs of our campus community, including compliance with Title IX and the Americans with Disabilities Act which is its primary focus,” university officials wrote in the memo. “This is not a rebranding, but a shift in focus that will align with the governor’s directive.”
Miranda Wright, a junior at WVU studying English education, said she was “really appalled” by the decision.
“I know that DEI helps a lot with getting kids scholarships, grants, stuff that they need to even go to university. For some people, [the] university is their only way out,” she said. “I know it’s not the university’s fault, but it’s still very sad because there might be kids who can’t get help that they need to be here.”
Wright added that it could affect the university’s student population diversity; international enrollment at WVU has dropped 60% since the 2017-18 academic year, according to the university’s student newspaper, The Daily Athenaeum.
WVU officials are continuing to review Morrisey’s DEI cessation order, which he announced on his second day in office. The order terminated DEI initiatives in state government or entities receiving state funding. It prompted the state’s higher education institutions to begin immediately reviewing diversity initiatives as state funding is critical to their operations.
On Friday, Morrisey said in an online video message that he applauded WVU’s actions.
“This is really critical. I know there’s always a lot of pressure to do the wrong thing,” he said. “Here in West Virginia, we’re going to do the right thing, and we’re going to make sure that West Virginia always stands for freedom, the rule of law and the American ideal.”
DEI, which has become a target of conservatives, is part of the “woke virus in the schools,” Morrisey said.
The acronym represents “diversity, equity and inclusion” policies aimed at promoting equality in government and workplaces. Morrisey, a Republican, believes the policies can give “special preferences unlawfully benefiting one group over another” due to race, age, ethnicity and more.
“We have to make sure that we’re taking steps to treat everyone the same under the law,” Morrisey said.
Jesse Wozniak, an associate professor in WVU’s Department of Sociology and Anthropology, said the hasty move by WVU leaders revealed a “paper thin commitment” to the concepts of diversity and inclusion.
“The decision by WVU administrators to immediately capitulate to the current moral panic surrounding DEI initiatives by preemptively shuttering their DEI office and strongly curtailing the mission of what is set to replace it is part and parcel of the damaging, cowardly leadership they have displayed on most matters,” he said. “It’s a sad, but completely predictable outcome.”
WVU officials said they’re also reviewing a subsequent federal order from President Donald Trump. The executive order could threaten federal funding for higher education institutions.
“Once the university’s review is complete, administrators will have a better understanding of the impact and will provide more specific, unit-level guidance at that time,” the university memo said.
WVU sophomore Nathan Lilly, who is studying computer science, said he felt like the university had little control over the situation due to possible funding loss.
The university faced a $45 million budget deficit in 2023, prompting its Board of Governors to cut 27 academic majors and around 300 jobs.
“They definitely still have the new organization that they’ve just created that I think will still offer quite a bit of protections for students, just not as much, which sucks,” Lilly said.
Marshall University is also reviewing its diversity initiatives and has removed DEI-related web pages as the university’s legal and government relations teams continue to review campus procedures to comply with applicable regulations.
Morrisey said that it was just “the beginning” of his administration’s effort to “root out DEI.”
“That’s going to happen more and more in the weeks and months ahead,” the governor said.
Laney Eichelberger contributed to this story.
YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE.