Mizzou scraps diversity office after GOP attacks. What will changes mean for students?

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The University of Missouri-Columbia is eliminating its Division of Inclusion, Diversity, and Equity as part of a reorganization plan that will split the division across different parts of the university.

University of Missouri System President Mun Choi framed the move as proactive due to the onslaught of legislation aimed at diversity efforts in the state. It also comes as Republicans in other states, such as Texas and Florida, have outright banned diversity offices at universities.

“We’re seeing the actions that have been taken in other states,” said Choi, who is also the chancellor at Mizzou. “There were divisions that were eliminated, the DEI divisions, and it resulted in larger staff layoffs. And in our case, we wanted to be proactive because those staff members serve an important role in ensuring the success of our students.”

The reorganization will take effect Aug. 15. The division’s vice chancellor position will be eliminated while the four units within the office, and its employees, will be moved to three other divisions across the university.

It’s the latest in a string of moves by university leaders to shift away from efforts tailored to improving diversity, as Republicans have taken issue with all programs related to diversity and inclusion. At Mizzou, diversity efforts included recruiting and retaining students as well as expanding programs that encourage underrepresented groups to study and work.

For example, two initiatives offered by the division allow for students of color to attend monthly workshops by faculty, staff and community leaders who serve as role models.

Republicans in Missouri and nationwide have seized on diversity programs in recent years, framing them as ideological policies that treat white people unfairly or prioritize social justice over merit and achievement.

The reorganization is almost certain to face a polarizing response. But Choi emphasized that while the division “will no longer exist,” the services provided by the division will still be in place.

“The bottom line is that the services that were available for students will still be available, but they’ll be available within the larger divisions that these units will now be a part of,” he said.

A university spokesperson said that the reorganization only affected Mizzou at this time. He did not have details about potential changes to the University of Missouri System’s other campuses in Kansas City, St. Louis and Rolla.

Choi’s announcement comes just days after he announced that Maurice Gipson, who led the diversity division, will leave the school next month for a position at a historically Black college in Arkansas. Gipson’s position will be eliminated after his departure, Choi said.

Gipson told reporters that he did not feel pushed out. He said that he doesn’t believe diversity efforts have been under attack, but that there’s been a broader misunderstanding nationwide about diversity, equity and inclusion, or DEI.

When asked whether he was concerned about the optics that the university was protecting its funding over its values, Gipson said he hoped people will see the work the school did to ensure services will still be available.

“Every staff member who currently works on inclusive excellence, who works towards our faculty and staff will remain here,” he said. “I’m leaving because I’m going to lead another university.”

Under the reorganization plan, the four units of the IDE division will be spread across different divisions:

• Inclusive Engagement and Constituent Relations will now report to the Division of Student Affairs.

• Access and Leadership Development programs will now report to the Office of the Provost.

• Inclusive Excellence and Strategic Initiatives will report to the Office of the Provost.

• Communications will report to the Division of Marketing & Communications.

Choi initially told reporters that the university hadn’t spoken with state lawmakers about the move. However, when pressed about comments Republican Sen. Bill Eigel made about the move last week, he acknowledged that he gave some lawmakers and stakeholders a heads up about Gipson’s departure.

“We did not speak to them and ask them what they think about it,” he said. “We actually shared with them as a matter of fact this message — the first message that I shared about Dr. Gibson’s departure and the plans that were going to be discussed with the reorganization is coming out.”

Gipson’s position was created in 2016 shortly after student-led protests over concerns with racism thrust the university and its fraught relationship with race into the national spotlight in 2015. He is the fourth person to oversee diversity efforts at the school since 2015.

The school has been slow to recruit and retain Black faculty . Black students currently make up only 5.45% of the student population while white students make up 76.4%, according to the most recent data online . Meanwhile Black Missourians make up about 11% of the state population.

The university, however, has touted high graduation rates for students of color and an increase in freshman enrollment.

On Tuesday, The Legion of Black Collegians posted a statement on social media saying that it appreciated Choi’s willingness to include the group in conversations to “preserve the jobs and resources thousands of students rely on every year.”

The group, which touts itself as the only Black student government in the nation, said that universities across the country have eliminated their diversity programs, “leaving hundreds jobless and student organizations scrambling to survive.” It also criticized Attorney General Andrew Bailey’s “complete misinformation” about the work it does

“The continued attacks and assumptions surrounding DEI nationwide coupled with the long, sordid history of how people of color are treated on Mizzou’s campus can no longer go unnoticed,” the statement said in part.

Part of a pattern

The University of Missouri System last year announced that it would be stopping all race-based admissions and race-based scholarships moving forward.

However, Choi told reporters at the time that the system would continue to honor current scholarships that had a racial component.

The decision happened after the U.S. Supreme Court struck down the race-based admission policies of the University of North Carolina and Harvard College. It also followed a letter from Republican Attorney General Andrew Bailey, who demanded that colleges in the state immediately end all affirmative action policies.

Missouri’s Democratic members of Congress — Rep. Emanuel Cleaver, a Kansas City Democrat, and Rep. Cori Bush, a St. Louis Democrat — condemned the move at the time , arguing the Supreme Court did not expressly prevent colleges from having race-based scholarships.

The UM System last year also scrapped its use of diversity statements in its hiring practices and announced standardized language that leaders can send to prospective employees.

That announcement came as lawmakers in the GOP-controlled General Assembly weighed legislation aimed at eliminating diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) hiring standards. State lawmakers have in recent years taken aim at diversity practices across the state.

Nationally, Sen. Eric Schmitt from Missouri has also pushed measures to eliminate diversity efforts, including in the military.

Twenty-eight states have introduced anti-DEI legislation leading to states such as Texas, Florida, Utah and Alabama eliminating DEI programs, according to a university spokesperson.

Missouri lawmakers have filed a total of 13 anti-DEI bills over the last two years.

The Star’s Daniel Desrochers contributed reporting.