Higher ed leaders fight back on attempts to curb diversity measures on campus

Louisiana higher education leaders are preparing to go on defense to protect diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) measures opposed by Republicans. 

Discussion of such diversity measures on campus received renewed attention when the Republican State Central Committee met last month to pass a resolution calling for the legislature to ban on DEI measures on college campuses. 

Another resolution, calling for Louisiana’s colleges and universities to report its spending on DEI spending, is making its way through the state legislature. 

Collis Temple III, chair of the Louisiana Board of Regents, issued a rebuke to those who want to nix DEI measures on college campuses in a statement released Tuesday. 

Temple said the Regents’ goal of a postsecondary degree or credential for 60% of working age adults in Louisiana will only be possible if access to higher education is equitable. 

“Diversity, equity and inclusion are not forces of division, but areas of focus that enable us to develop practical tools to cultivate the potential of every individual,” Temple said. “Employing these tools to help learners chart a path to achieve their goals in an atmosphere of respect for all differences, strengthens them as individuals and tremendously benefits their communities and our state.”

Temple reaffirmed the Regents’ desire to “sustain and improve diversity, equity and inclusion as a means to increase educational attainment and opportunity in our state as we work to ensure that Louisiana prospers.” 

Just one week after the Republican State Central Committee passed its resolution, the Louisiana Conference of the American Association of University Professors (AAUP) passed a counter resolution at their annual meeting in Baton Rouge. 

The resolution rejects attempts by outside bodies to intervene in academic freedom and encourages state higher education administrators and leaders to issue statements in support of DEI measures. 

The AAUP’s resolution also took aim at legislation in other states that aims to whittle away at such measures. 

The full resolution can be read below.