CNN
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For Daniela Pintor-Mendoza, the efforts to abolish diversity, equality and inclusion initiatives in higher education literally hit home.
The University of Iowa sophomore has been part of a campus housing option known as a living learning community where students interested in Latino culture and experiences live and study together. But next fall, this option is going away, prompted by President Donald Trump’s expansive executive order rolling back DEI programs.
“(It’s) a small part of home away from home. It keeps us going. It keeps us motivated. It keeps us surrounded by people who encourage us to be part of this campus,” said Pintor-Mendoza, who said she is scrambling to find new housing and a new place to feel a sense of belonging.
The public research university in Iowa City is only one of many higher education institutions that have responded to a Department of Education mandate to cease engaging in DEI initiatives. While some are taking a wait-and-see approach, many others are scrubbing all mentions of DEI from websites, shuttering programs and some have lost funding for scholarships.
Trump’s crusade against DEI exploded on Inauguration Day when he signed an executive order banning DEI programs, effectively ordering agencies to “align” with the White House’s policies and guidance.
On February 14, a Department of Education letter sent to all K-12 and postsecondary educational institutions made the mandate even clearer. It directed schools to stop using race as a factor in admissions, financial aid, hiring, training and other areas, and set a two-week deadline to comply with the new policies.
The letter criticized DEI efforts saying that such programs were “smuggling racial stereotypes and explicit race-consciousness into everyday training, programming, and discipline.”
In the past, many DEI initiatives have been credited as beneficial and studies have shown college students exposed to more diversity have greater levels of cultural awareness and political participation.
With critical funding threatened and even the potential for legal action, a new memo released last weekend sowed more confusion as the Department of Education said the use of the words diversity, equity or inclusion doesn’t automatically mean a program is in violation of the new guidelines.
Here are some of the changes at colleges and universities so far in the wake of the Department of Education’s DEI directive:
On-campus housing focused on Latino, Black and LGBTQ+ experiences shuts down
The University of Iowa announced last week it would no longer offer its living learning communities focused on Latino, Black and LGBTQ+ experiences in its residence halls, starting in the new school year because of the Department of Education letter.
“We understand that this may be a decision you didn’t expect to receive,” the university’s housing and dining office said in a letter to staff. Chris Brewer, a university spokesperson, confirmed the school’s decision to CNN but declined to comment further.
The University of Iowa, like many universities across the United States, offers living learning communities, also known as LLCs, which allow students with shared interests to live in the same dormitory and be part of organized programs. Pintor-Mendoza was part of Unidos, which is “open to any student who seeks to strengthen knowledge and empowerment of Latinx students” but not restricted to only students of Latino heritage.
In the fall, the three housing options related to ethnic, race and gender identity will not be an option for Pintor-Mendoza and other students. Instead, they could be placed in the general residence halls or apply to join one of the six other living learning communities still be offered. Those include options focused on engineering, arts and sports management, according to the university’s website.
Students who were impacted were allowed to participate in the general online room and roommate selection process, according to the letter from university housing officials, but Pintor-Mendoza said she received notice of the changes on February 18, weeks after an early deadline to participate in room selection passed.
With the clock ticking, many are unsure what their living situation next year will look like.
“They had what was left, what was available, which could have been on any building on campus, on any floor on campus and sometimes with random roommates that they didn’t choose,” Pintor-Mendoza said.
Pintor-Mendoza believes the living learning communities have given students from “completely different” backgrounds a chance to form relationships and gain perspectives they could not easily get.
“Experiencing or interacting or becoming friends with someone who has grown up completely different than themselves and gaining that cultural awareness,” she said. “I think other students are losing that chance, that perspective.”
There were about 30,000 students attending the University of Iowa in 2023 and at least 71% were White, according to data from the National Center for Education Statistics. A page on the school’s website that provided the latest details about student enrollment is currently unavailable because “the university continues to review all websites and content for DEI.”
In its “Frequently Asked Questions” guidance, the Department of Education said “programs focused on interests in particular cultures, heritages, and areas of the world” would not violate the mandate.
“However, schools must consider whether any school programming discourages members of all races from attending, either by excluding or discouraging students of a particular race or races, or by creating hostile environments based on race for students who do participate,” the FAQ said.
Pintor-Mendoza, a co-founder of the university’s Latino Student Union, said she’s concerned Latino high school students won’t consider the University of Iowa a welcoming place to attend college.
“Latinos … coming to a predominantly White institution, it’s a severe culture shock,” she said.
Whether institutions are legally required to disband living learning communities focused on ethnicity and culture under the Department of Education directive is not entirely clear, said Mary DeNiro, CEO of the Association of College and University Housing Officers-International, who also called the Department of Education’s orders “very broad.”
As colleges and universities begin planning for new students arriving on campus DeNiro said, “It is entirely likely some will take a chainsaw and others a scalpel until there is more clarity.”
Dozens of students gathered last weekend at the Pentacrest, the center of the university campus in Iowa City, to protest the changes. They carried signs that read, “Diversity Makes a University” and “Remaining Silent Will Not Keep You Safe.”
“The LLCs’ removal was really visible and kind of put a fire under us. It was like, okay, enough is enough,” said Pintor-Mendoza, who helped to organize the protest.
As more people are directly affected, Pintor-Mendoza believes concern will rise about dramatic changes in higher education.
The effects of the DEI backlash from the Trump administration go beyond race, ethnicity and gender identity. In Minnesota, two universities recently lost funding for scholarships meant to address the teacher shortage in the state.
The University of St. Thomas, a private Catholic research university in St. Paul, won’t receive what remains of a $6.8 million federal grant to provide 120 scholarships of up to $20,000 each year for graduate students planning to become special education or elementary education teachers.
Nate McKenzie, 30, said he and other recipients of the scholarship are now wondering whether they will need to come up with money to finish their degrees.
The University of St. Thomas has assured students that funding covering their spring tuition won’t be affected but McKenzie is part of a 20-person cohort set to graduate after completing summer courses.
“We’re very much kind of just in limbo, waiting for the other shoe to drop. And
then, you know, how heavy is it?” he said.
McKenzie’s path to the classroom wasn’t traditional. Despite coming from a family
of educators, he spent years working in other industries before taking a job at the
Minneapolis Public Schools District in 2023. It was there that he learned about the
scholarship for the special education master’s program at St. Thomas and decided
to apply.
McKenzie is currently working as a student-teacher at a public school in Minneapolis while finishing up his degree. His days revolve around helping students off the bus, making sure they get breakfast, and assisting them with reading, math and writing.
“The impact is less teachers and less support for the students who need it … and less teachers for every student,” McKenzie said about the impact of possibly ending the scholarship. “A program like this going away … the true result ultimately is a bigger need for teachers because there’s less coming through the pipeline.”
Although the university has previously noted the program could help increase the number of special education teachers “including those from diverse communities,” a spokesperson for St. Thomas told CNN the “scholarships were open to students from all backgrounds, regardless of race or ethnicity.”
Leslie Hitchens, the principal at Maxfield Elementary School in St. Paul, has seen the benefits of the teaching programs firsthand. Her school is one of the local public schools that hosts student-teachers funded by the scholarships from the University of St. Thomas.
“Without pipeline programs like these, the pool of new teachers is less likely to come in with the experience needed to be successful for scholars on day one,” Hitchens said.
Another university in the region, the University of Minnesota, is also facing the impacts of changes in federal funding related to DEI. The university, with its main campus in Minneapolis, had been recently approved for a $2.3 million grant over five years for a special education teacher program but received a termination letter from the Department of Education on February 12, according to Danaya Franke, director of the university’s NXT GEN Teach program.
The apprenticeship, which was open to all candidates, would recruit and prepare 60 future special education teachers to help address a “critical shortage” of educators in the state, Franke said in a statement.
The first cohort was slated to begin in the fall of 2025, according to Franke.
“The loss of this federal support threatens the University of Minnesota’s ability to
deliver on its mission and obligation to our state, the next generation of K-12
educators, local schools, and — most importantly — to the students and families in
communities of all sizes across our state,” Franke said.
DEI offices closing and staff layoffs
University employees leading DEI efforts and providing resources to students are experiencing layoffs, job reassignments and other changes.
At The Ohio State University, 16 staff positions will be axed as its Office of Diversity and Inclusion and its Center for Belonging and Social Change are disbanded, university spokesperson Benjamin Johnson told CNN.
“All of higher education is facing a challenging environment,” The Ohio State University President Ted Carter said in a February 28 letter to students, staff and faculty. “Nonetheless, I continue to believe that the best course for our university is to take actions proactively so that we can manage this new landscape in ways that best uphold the values of excellence, access and opportunity that we hold dear.”
Carter also noted the university’s Office of Institutional Equity is set to be renamed the Office of Civil Rights Compliance “to more accurately reflect its work.”
Eliminated staff who are interested in other roles within the university will be assisted in finding new employment, Carter said.
It’s unclear how many people are currently employed by universities in DEI roles across the United States. The University of Texas System, considered one of the largest public university systems in the nation, shut down 24 DEI offices and eliminated more than 300 full and part-time roles in response to a 2023 state law banning DEI programs on college campuses.
The announcement of the layoffs was met with resistance from students across the state. The Ohio Student Association, a statewide grassroots organization that advocates to protect marginalized groups on college campuses, released a letter Monday saying compliance to “unjust politicized mandates” was “cowardly and morally reprehensible.”
“Now, by undoing the programs that have allowed all students to thrive, universities are choosing to appease politicians at the cost of students’ dignity and wellbeing,” the group said.
“These programs contribute to academic excellence by fostering diverse perspectives, supporting students from marginalized backgrounds, and promoting understanding across different lived experiences,” the group added.
Meanwhile in Arizona, the Maricopa County Community College District has said volunteer and paid DEI-related positions will need to be reevaluated, and “professional growth funds” can no longer be used by employees to attend conferences focused on race, identity or national origin.
Other changes include eliminating employee group events and activities focused on DEI, according to a February 28 letter from Chancellor Steven R. Gonzales and obtained by CNN. Employees can also no longer include pronouns on emails signatures, business cards or other contact materials.
The Maricopa County Community College District serves over 100,000 students annually across 10 colleges.
A spokesperson for the district said the changes are the result of an internal audit prompted by the Department of Education directive.
“We recognize that these required changes may be disappointing to some of our students and employees,” the spokesperson told CNN. “However, we remain committed to fostering a welcoming learning environment for all students as they pursue their educational goals.”
CNN’s Nayeli Jaramillo-Plata and Javon Huynh contributed to this report.
