The University of Michigan Board of Regents did not vote on whether to end the diversity, equity and inclusion program during its final meeting of the year Thursday, following protests on campus to keep the controversial program intact.
However, the board has decided that diversity statements will no longer be required for faculty members when hiring or promoting, a major repositioning for the university.
The board did not directly say it would not vote on dissolving the DEI program, which has reportedly spent $250 million on diversity initiatives since 2016. But members spoke in general terms, warning: “Don’t believe everything you read on the Internet.”
“There are no plans to cut these programs,” said board member Michael Behm.
The board also increased family income requirements in a program that gives qualified students tuition-free access. The Go Blue Guarantee provides free tuition to high-achieving students in the state with a household income of less than $125,000 – an increase from $65,000.
University President Santa J. Ono said the increase aims to make education at the school more accessible and equitable for students across the state.
Mark Bernstein, board member, said the program, which falls under the umbrella of Michigan’s comprehensive DEI program, was important because “intelligence and talent are equally distributed throughout society, but opportunity is not. … This is an extraordinary commitment to this state and to the future of this state.”
Board member Sandra Hubbard said: “This means that we are open to business from all walks of life, and that people should feel comfortable on this campus and express the diversity of thought and freedom of expression from places in the state and the world.”
Some had taken Hubbard’s interview with Fox News after a November campus rally in support of DEI as a sign that the board would vote to end the massive DEI program. That came after an extensive article in the New York Times Magazine raised questions about the effectiveness of the program.
The Michigan Daily, the student newspaper, received a letter to the Faculty Senate dated Nov. 20 indicating that the board was meeting privately in early November to discuss funding for DEI initiatives in the next fiscal year.
More than 500 students, faculty and staff gathered on campus to object to the potential disruption of the program for the 51,000-student campus.
Although there was no vote to end the program, the decision on faculty diversity statements alarmed program advocates. During the hearing, several students and some faculty members emphasized their support for DEI to the Board of Regents.
“We’ve seen it all over the country,” said student Yasin Lowe. “DEI has been added to the long list of dog whistles and buzzwords that many bureaucrats are now too afraid to touch. Many are completely wrong and are spreading terror and fear for a reason that I must attribute to ignorance at best and malice at worst.”
Another student, Nicholas Love, challenged Michigan to “think about who it serves, who it excludes, who it claims to be and create a model where we consistently improve access to education and prosperity.”
President-elect Donald Trump has already promised to roll back DEI at colleges that receive federal funding. Some states, such as Texas and Florida, have banned DEI programs at state-funded universities.
Keith Riles, a physics professor at Michigan, said he would like to see all DEI programs eliminated. He used the term “DIE,” popularized by Elon Musk, calling the program “discrimination” and the Black Lives Matter movement a “grift.”
“I urge you to rip away the entire DEI industrial complex,” Riles said. He added that affirmative action is “being repackaged as DEI. It is harmful to this institution. … DEI is the only systemic racism that has existed on this campus.”
This article was originally published on NBCNews.com
