FIX EXCLUSIVES
Questions have been raised about whether recent changes at the University of Wyoming to curb diversity, equity and inclusion and eliminate progressive-minded degree programs are essentially window dressing.
The University of Wyoming Board of Trustees recently voted in May to cancel five degrees, including bachelor’s degrees in African American and Diaspora Studies and Gender and Women’s Studies, reported Wyoming Public Media.
“The programs were identified as ‘low-producing,’ meaning they weren’t graduating enough majors. Gender and Women’s Studies produced 17 graduates in the last five years. African American and Diaspora Studies produced three,” the outlet reported.
But the university simply rebranded them as minors, which “does little to address the broader ideological imbalance on campus,” according to one higher education watchdog group.
The curriculum changes came on the heels of a 2024 decision to close UW’s DEI office and eliminate mandatory DEI statements for hiring and promotion.
These changes came in response to a “strong message” from Wyoming’s Republican-dominated legislature, stated University President Ed Seidel in a memo to the community. Wyoming lawmakers had “directed that no state dollars be spent on the DEI office” as of 2024.
However, these actions have not altogether addressed some of the intrinsic bias concerns Republican lawmakers had about an alleged progressive agenda on campus, according to the James G. Martin Center for Academic Renewal.
Instead, the changes have been “a symbolic gesture that fails to address the deeper structural issues at the University of Wyoming,” argued Jovan Tripkovic, a communications manager at the center.
“[W]hile riding the anti-DEI wave by eliminating undergraduate degrees in African American Studies and Gender and Women’s Studies, the Board of Trustees has chosen to keep many of the courses from these programs. Moving forward, the courses will form the foundation of minors in gender or diaspora studies,” he wrote in a July piece for the center.
Jenna Robinson, president of the center, said she views the elimination of these majors as a “first step,” but insufficient without broader reforms.
“Fields where the goal is social justice instead of the discovery, preservation, and transmission of truth don’t meet the requirements to be an academic major,” she told The College Fix via email. “These programs teach activism, not scholarship.”
She said these programs should not exist as standalone fields; instead, topics like women’s or civil rights should be studied within traditional disciplines like history or political science to ensure academic rigor.
“Gender studies, and other similar programs, should never have been made into their own fields. Courses on women’s rights or civil rights, for example, are much more serious and rigorous within traditional disciplines like history or political science,” she said.
She said she advocates for replacing UW’s distribution-based general education with a traditional liberal arts curriculum focused on civic education, asserting that social justice-oriented programs prioritize ideology over truth.
Tripkovic told The Fix that retaining gender studies and diaspora courses as minors proves that this is a cosmetic change.
“Instead of full undergraduate degrees, students can now take these courses as part of minors that closely mirror the canceled programs in both name and structure. And let’s not forget the cosmetic rebranding of the School of Culture, Gender & Social Justice—now renamed the Department of American Cultural Studies. These changes are more about appearances than substance,” Tripkovic said in an email interview.
He argued that real reform would involve “eliminating not just the degrees, but also the courses and administrative infrastructure that support them. For now, DEI may appear to be in hibernation—but it’s simply waiting for the right moment to reemerge.”
Ultimately, the University of Wyoming’s actions reflect a national trend of reevaluating DEI and identity-based programs. While the cuts and closures signal responsiveness to legislative and public pressure, the retention of courses and infrastructure suggests a reluctance to fully dismantle DEI’s influence, according to Tripkovic.
“The DEI mindset is still alive at the University of Wyoming,” Tripkovic said.
For meaningful reform, watchdogs like Robinson and Tripkovic said they call for a curriculum rooted in traditional disciplines, civic education, and a budget aligned with Wyoming’s needs.
A university spokesperson did not respond to multiple interview requests from The College Fix.
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