OU President Joseph Harroz Jr. announced in a campus-wide email Tuesday that OU’s Division of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion will change its function and name to the Division of Access and Opportunity, and also reaffirmed that no one will lose their employment with the university due to Gov. Kevin Stitt’s December executive order calling for a formal review of diversity, equity and inclusion in higher education.
Harroz wrote in the email that the university has been assessing the possible implications of the executive order and engaging with the campus community and key stakeholders. According to the email, DEI-related positions will come to an end and staff members will take on new roles due to these changes.
“While it will take time to determine the full scope of the executive order, we have already begun working on anticipated areas of change,” the email read. “This includes changing the name and function of our current Division of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion to our Division of Access and Opportunity, which will continue to ensure that the University of Oklahoma is a place of belonging for all.
“Even though DEI positions will come to an end and staff members will take on new roles that support our community broadly, no one in those roles will lose their employment with the university because of the executive order.”
Harroz wrote in the email that many scholarly activities related to research are not subject to the executive order, including course instruction, research, creative endeavors and practices needed for accreditation and licensure. Harroz also included that registered student organizations will continue to be protected.
“It is crucial to note that many scholarly activities integral to our role as a leading research university are not subject to the provisions of the executive order, including academic course instruction, research and creative endeavors, and practices necessary for accreditation and licensure,” the email read. “Other areas that will not change include the activities of registered student organizations, as well as our efforts to attract and support the very best students and scholars.
“An individual’s free speech remains unaffected by the executive order.”
The executive order, which Stitt signed in December, requires state agencies and universities to review the necessity and efficiency of DEI positions, departments, activities, procedures and programs.
The order requires universities and state agencies to comply with the executive order by May 31. It also asks for a certificate of compliance and a report to be submitted to the governor, speaker of the Oklahoma House and Senate pro tempore.
The Oklahoma Legislature first convened on Feb. 5 and typically finishes its business on the state budget by the end of May.
The order reads that “executive state agencies shall not utilize state funds, property or resources to grant or support diversity, equity, and inclusion positions, departments, activities, procedures, or programs to the extent that they grant preferential treatment based on one’s particular race, color, ethnicity, or national origin over another’s.”
In January 2023, Superintendent of Public Instruction Ryan Walters asked Allison Garrett, chancellor of higher education, to compile a 10-year review of its spending materials on current materials used for DEI in state higher education institutions.
The report found that there was about $10.2 million budgeted for DEI activities for the current fiscal year, of which the state contributed $3.7 million. This amounts to 0.29% of all higher education spending and 0.11% of state spending on higher education.
At a January meeting of the Vice President’s Advisory Council, Harroz announced to a room of student leaders and OU administrators that no staff would be terminated as a result of the executive order.
“Nobody's losing their job,” Harroz said. “No one's losing their employment with the university because of these changes.”
David Surratt, dean of students and vice president for student affairs, told the group that it is possible the university may review and change language on websites and in offices as the university reviews and complies with the executive order. Surratt said this language may be reviewed to be sure offices are explaining and possibly expanding their services to better serve all students.
“I don't want you to be surprised during the next few months when there's reviews of websites, conversations and looking at language that may be changed in certain offices to follow the law and also still maintain our services or expand our services in a way that meets our expectations and our mission for our institution,” Surratt said.
The University of Tennessee renamed its Division of Diversity and Engagement to the Division of Access and Engagement in November to move away from terminology some politicians have taken issue with, according to an article by The Daily Beacon, the university’s student newspaper.
The email also announced the university created a new web page related to the executive order that will continue to be updated.
The new website links to the executive order in full and Harroz’s original response from Dec. 13, where he emphasized the university’s commitment to DEI values. The site includes a list of frequently asked questions regarding the executive order and guidance for all OU campuses, Cameron University and Rogers State University.
The website states the executive order does not alter a university’s obligations under federal and state, including the requirements under the Civil Rights Act of 1964, Title IX and the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment.
All guidance is intended to provide an initial overview of the executive order and not cover every specific situation or question regarding the order’s implementation, according to the site.
Takeaways from the website:
- The guidance includes a breakdown of exceptions to the executive order and a university’s obligations. The website states a university is not allowed to operate offices or employ people whose specific jobs are to provide programs and activities for a certain group of students.
“Offices that are focused on African American, Hispanic, or LGBTQ+ students likely violate the Executive Order,” the website states. “Even though offices solely dedicated to these students will need to be restructured, programs supporting these communities may be incorporated into a framework that broadly supports student success.”
- The website read that OU anticipates being able to award all scholarships permitted under state and federal law and the Executive Order. The website reads that student scholarships are not affected if awarded without regard to race, sex, color, ethnicity or national origin, and if a DEI statement is not required or considered as part of the application or interview process.
“However, if a scholarship considers race, color, ethnicity, nation of origin, sex, gender identity, or sexual orientation, the university cannot support such a scholarship under federal law and the Executive Order. If an entity separate from the university offers a scholarship that considers one or more of these characteristics, the university may accept the scholarship funds awarded but may not participate in any manner in the award or implementation of the scholarship. Further, such scholarships offered by external groups cannot be specifically advertised on university websites and must be removed if identified.”
- Language that promotes activities to broadly support students will still be allowed on university websites and social media profiles. Identity-driven professional organizations can still be featured on university websites. According to the website, content within implicit bias training for hiring committees is being modified and will be incorporated into voluntary training.
- Students and employees may participate in voluntary DEI trainings, but a university cannot mandate training.
- OU can still fund academic or professional conference travel when a presentation topic involves DEI or sponsor a university employee’s membership in an outside organization that is identity-based or has a DEI-focused message.
- If a group is not an RSO, the executive order’s restrictions still apply to its activities.
- Professors may still discuss race, ethnicity, sex, gender, gender identity, sexual orientation or other DEI-related topics in their courses.
- OU may ask students their pronouns and gender identification, but students are not forced to answer or penalized for not answering. Electronic forms must not require a response to advance to the next page. The executive order did not address pronouns in a signature block, but no state or federal law prohibits the use of pronouns in a signature block.
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