University president defends multicultural religious, social, and academic groups on campus

Kentucky Capitol (Arden Barnes)

FRANKFORT — For almost 90 minutes on Tuesday, Kentucky lawmakers who tried to ban diversity, equity and inclusion in Kentucky’s colleges were told why such programs were needed in higher education. Yet, one legislator said DEI programs “segregate” students.

Among presenters were two university presidents — Northern Kentucky University President Candy Short-Thompson and Morehead State University President Jay Morgan —  said they want their universities’ graduates to be part of a global workforce in presentations about diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) programs and policies at their respective institutions.

In her presentation, Short-Thompson highlighted the more than 200 diverse student organizations NKU students have the option to join. They include religious, social, multicultural and academic groups.

Rep. Emily Callaway, R-Louisville, asked Short-Thompson how her son, who will soon go to college, could feel welcomed at NKU when there are no organizations for white students.

“I see there’s African-American alumni that come and participate, which is great. I see Black Student Unions. I don’t see white anything. No mention. I see Black male-female events. My son, what would he relate to on your campus?” Callaway said. “And how is this inclusive? And how is it promoting unity while you segregate Black, white? Well, we’re assuming there’s some whites that go there. We don’t know because there’s no mention of any activities for whites. So I’m having a problem understanding what the justification is when we use the terms of diversity to exclude, very specifically, my son.”

In her response, Short-Thompson said having multicultural organizations is akin to the General Assembly having a Black Legislative Caucus — some people find value in those but not all attend them.

Short-Thompson, who has three children who went to college, said her children enrolled and joined various organizations based on their different interests.

“That’s an education — where you have the opportunity to learn about other people and other groups, and you have the opportunity to study abroad, and you have this great chance to meet people who come from other parts of the state or other parts of the country or around the world,” Short-Thompson said.

According to NKU’s website , 77% of its student population was white in Fall 2022, compared to 9% African-American, 4% Hispanic and 3% classified as two or more races.

And how is it promoting unity while you segregate Black, white? Well, we're assuming there's some whites that go there. We don't know because there's no mention of any activities for whites.

– Rep. Emily Callaway, R-Louisville

The committee’s focus on DEI in higher education comes after legislation to end DEI programs and offices in public postsecondary institutions failed to pass during the legislative session earlier this year.

The Interim Joint Committee on Education will hear from remaining public universities during its September meeting, said co-chair Sen. Stephen West, R-Paris.

Short-Thompson also told the committee that NKU has a diverse student body that includes students from all walks of life, giving them a chance to learn from and interact cross-culturally with students who are different from themselves. She added that the university does not have institutionally funded scholarships based on DEI attributes, does not have DEI criteria in its admissions and diversity statements are not a condition of employment, promotion or other kind of benefit.

NKU does have 45 academic programs that are externally accredited, such as its education and nursing programs, on criteria that includes DEI curricular requirements.

Short-Thompson said NKU wants to prepare graduates to be part of a “global economy,” which means learning and interacting with people who come from different backgrounds and perspectives.

Morgan, in his presentation, said MSU has similar goals and wants its graduates to be “culturally competent.” More than half of the students at MSU come from low-income backgrounds, Morgan said. Therefore, more resources are spent on serving students in those areas.

“Morehead State University values the diversity of our students, the diversity of our workforce, our overall people,” Morgan said. “We respect all people, and we want our students and our faculty and visitors to feel like they have a sense of belonging on our campus.”

Morgan said that the university does not require DEI training for employees and does not require applicants to submit diversity statements.

Travis Powell, vice president and general counsel for the Council on Postsecondary Education, said Kentucky was one of several states’ with a racially segregated higher education system that violated Title VI of the Civil Rights Act decades ago. Since 1982, Kentucky worked to remedy that by implementing a desegregation plan , which included improving recruitment and retention of Kentucky’s Black college students. The state was released from the plan in 2008.

Powell said CPE adopted a 2016 DEI policy that was integrated into the council’s strategic agenda.

Tim Minella, a senior fellow at the Goldwater Institute’s Van Sittert Center for Constitutional Advocacy, said CPE’s DEI policies are “a barrier” to “ensuring access and opportunity” for Kentucky students. Minella was previously part of the Lewis Honors College faculty at the University of Kentucky.

Minella said the Goldwater Institute, a conservative think tank, suggests that Kentucky lawmakers abolish “DEI bureaucracies” that allow students to be treated differently because of race and prevent colleges from requiring DEI courses for graduation and prevent colleges from requiring DEI courses for graduation.

Senate Democratic Caucus Chair Reggie Thomas, who is from Lexington and has family members who attended UK, asked Minella if his intention was to “return UK to the 1950s,” as that’s around the time the university first allowed Black students to enroll at the institution. Thomas said a report from Minella provided to the committee was “quite critical” of the university.

“The intent is to prohibit racial discrimination in public institutions of higher education — both in admissions and hiring,” Minella said.

During the 2024 legislative session, two Kentucky lawmakers introduced bills aimed at curbing DEI in higher education that moved but did not get final passage. Republican Whip Mike Wilson, of Bowling Green, originally filed Senate Bill 6 to prevent public postsecondary institutions from requiring employees and students to “endorse a specific ideology or political viewpoint” as part of graduation or hiring practices.

That bill passed the Senate , but was overhauled in the House to include measures from House Bill 9 from Rep. Jennifer Decker, R-Waddy. Her legislation would have ended DEI offices and programs at public universities.

The Senate did concur with a House floor amendment to a postsecondary funding bill to prohibit the use of “any race-based metrics or targets in the formulas” for the higher education funding model.

The Kentucky proposals followed a nationwide trend of conservative politicians rolling back DEI measures at colleges and universities.

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