The University of Missouri is the latest institution to do away with certain policies that spawned out of a woke movement that began a few years ago.
The public university, located in a state controlled by a Republican government, announced recently that it would essentially be eliminating the Division of Inclusion, Diversity and Equity that it had created not long ago.
In a letter that he sent to the community of the university, Mun Choi, the president of the school, made the announcement on Tuesday.
Many other organizations, government agencies and private companies have announced similar moves this year to do away with their DEI divisions, groups or initiatives altogether. That’s a rather quick change of heart from when all of these entities just started these divisions a few years ago — in the wake of the death of George Floyd while he was in the custody of police officers in Minneapolis in 2020.
In many of those cases where the organization got rid of entire DEI divisions, everyone who worked for that division lost their job. This isn’t going to be the case with the University of Missouri, though.
The university announced that the leaders in that division would be shifting to new roles — either in other divisions or other departments, according to Choi.
One person who won’t be moving within the university system is Vice Chancellor Maurice Gipson, who was the leader of the DEI division at Missouri. He’ll be leaving the university altogether to assume the role of interim president at Philander Smith University, which is located in Little Rock, Arkansas.
Missouri’s president said that all of the changes to the DEI division would take effect on August 15. All people who reported to positions within that division would have brand new people to report to.
In his letter to the community, Choi wrote:
“This change aligns these departments most closely with their constituents where they will continue to provide important services for students, faculty and staff as part of a comprehensive team.”
He further noted that the university took other actions because of recent decisions handed down from the U.S. Supreme Court, and other legislation that’s been proposed in the state of Missouri.
Some of those changes include eliminating all hiring statements about diversity, ending all admissions practices and scholarships that are conscious of race, as well as “ensuring that inclusion means inclusion for all.”
As Choi wrote in his letter:
“In the Missouri Legislature, 13 pieces of DEI legislation were introduced during the past two years. Our proactive responses played a role in averting the passage of these bills.
“This is a defining period for the University of Missouri, and we must make proactive changes for a sustainable path forward to achieve excellence for all. The path forward must ensure that all students, faculty and staff are welcomed, valued and provided opportunities to succeed.
“WIth input from Vice Chancellor Gipson, university leaders and various stakeholders, we developed a sustainable plan to achieve this objective.”
