Editor’s note: This story has been updated as of Aug. 23, 2024.
University of Kentucky President Eli Capilouto announced the Office of Institutional Diversity will be disbanded as a part of the university’s “mission to advance this state in all that we do.”
On Tuesday, Aug. 20, Capilouto sent an email to the faculty and staff of UK detailing the future of diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) at the university and why the decision was made after having previously disagreed with anti-DEI legislation.
The units within the Office for Institutional Diversity will shift and move to other offices that “support the entire institution.”
The Martin Luther King Center will be a part of the Office of Student Success, UK’s public radio station WUKY and lifelong learning programs like the Donovan Scholars will be in the Office for Community Relations, and the Center for Graduate and Professional Diversity Initiatives will “evolve under UK HealthCare.”
According to the email a new office, called the Office for Community Relations, will be introduced along with other unnamed offices.
Capilouto said the structure and organization of UK must reflect the commitment to support the success of all students, engage with entire communities and welcome divergent perspectives, rather than focusing on a specific part of the campus community.
“Job descriptions will reflect that people are doing work that impacts and serves all, not some. Moreover, some units are necessarily being moved out of an office that is being disbanded into other units, to serve all,” Jay Blanton, UK spokesperson said in an X post, formerly known as Twitter.
No jobs will be eliminated in the process of dismantling DEI on campus, according to the email. Positions with diversity in the title will be renamed accordingly.
“Colleges and units will work with members of our community whose titles include diversity officer to better recognize what I heard from so many — that their efforts support all members of a college or unit,” Capilouto said. “We have good and dedicated people doing important work. They serve the entire community; their job descriptions and their efforts should reflect that commitment.”
In addition to the shift of offices, diversity training will no longer be mandated at any level as it is “not as effective and that diversity statements don’t speak to actions,” the email said.
Diversity statements will not be required during the hiring and application processes, facilitators will remain impartial on partisan and political issues, and as a way of “ensuring impartiality,” websites will be free of political positions.
The email said any statements that imply an official view on a current event will be eliminated to ensure impartiality on campus.
According to the email, it was “made clear” to Capilouto that legislators will be re-exploring the possibility of anti-DEI legislation in the 2025 legislative session after failing to push forward with the legislation this past spring.
Capilouto said UK has listened to policymakers’ questions regarding the ways in which the university stands on current issues and whether UK appears partisan or political.
“… As a result, (we) narrowly interpret things solely through the lens of identity. In so doing, the concern is that we either intentionally or unintentionally limit discourse,” Capilouto said.
He said this does not infringe on academic freedom and does not want it to be construed that way.
