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The University of Illinois plans to rename its Office of Vice Chancellor for Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion in January, citing a “changing higher education landscape.”
However, Chancellor Charles Isbell told the university system in a Nov. 6 email that the mission of the office will not change.
“The office structure and name are changing,” Isbell wrote. “The mission of the office and our institutional commitment to supporting the success of our entire university community are not changing.”
The mission of the office is to guide the university’s “efforts to create a campus community that is welcoming, accessible, and equitable for all,” according to its website. Its projects include “Antiracism Initiatives” and DEI awards for faculty and staff, as well as student training workshops on “racial justice,” “LGBTQ+” support, and an “Undocumented Student Ally Training.”
Starting Jan. 1 and pending final approval by the Board of Trustees, the office will be renamed the Office of the Vice Chancellor for Access, Civil Rights, and Community, according to the email.
The Daily Illini linked the change to pressure from the Trump administration to end discriminatory DEI programs at taxpayer-funded institutions. The student newspaper reports more:
The structural changes include “clarifying some internal reporting lines,” according to OVCDEI’s Interim Vice Chancellor Designate, Gioconda Guerra Pérez. In an email statement to The Daily Illini, she explained that its services and resources will remain the same.
“This is not a response to any specific directive of the federal government, but rather out of conversations among campus leadership that the office should have a name that makes its resources and mission clearer,” Pérez wrote.
In October, the university system also announced a new policy prohibiting scholarships awarded based on a student’s “race, color, national origin,” or “sex/gender,” The College Fix reported. Additionally, UI stopped requiring DEI statements for tenure.
Many higher education institutions have closed or renamed their DEI offices over the past year in response to directives from President Donald Trump.
The Republican leader has issued several executive orders related to civil rights, discrimination, and diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives. One issued in April calls for the restoration of “equal opportunity and meritocracy” over “race- or sex-based favoritism.”
Another ordered an overhaul of the “higher education accreditation system, ensuring colleges and universities deliver high-quality, high-value education free from unlawful discrimination and ideological overreach.”
MORE: U. Illinois won’t accept any more race, sex-based scholarships
