EAST LANSING — In a split vote, Michigan State trustees removed the word “diversity” from the title of a vice president who was the top official on campus responsible for diversity, equity and inclusion efforts.
Jabbar Bennett previously served as the vice president and chief diversity officer for the university. Now, he’s been renamed as vice president and chief inclusion officer.
The change passed 6-1 in an Oct. 31 vote, with Trustee Rema Vassar, D-Detroit, voting no, and Trustee Dennis Denno, D-East Lansing, abstaining.
Some trustees indicated the change was due to pressures from the Trump administration.
The change was included within a group of personnel action items, including making tenure recommendations for faculty members and approving a 1.5% raise for MSU President Kevin Guskiewicz.
Vassar said she was in support of everything else included in the motion, but felt she needed to vote no because of the change in Bennett’s title.
“I can’t vote yes for this because I do not agree that we should capitulate to pressure around language changes,” she said.
Denno said he agreed with Vassar, though abstained because of his support for the other items included within the discussion.
“I’m just really tired of running away from the word diversity,” Denno said.
Trustee Renee Knake Jefferson said she understood the concerns that Vassar and Denno raised, but said she wanted to support the administration’s efforts.
“This is something that our administration asked us to support, and I trust under this president that the work we do will not change,” she said.
MSU had taken steps this year to address efforts by the administration of President Donald Trump to pull funding from universities who promote DEI efforts.
In February, MSU ordered a review by deans and other school leaders of all “programs and activities” to make sure the university is complying with anti-discrimination laws, with a specific focus on those that may focus or appear to focus on individuals based on a protected identity, such as race, ethnicity, gender or religion. At the time, multiple government agencies were looking into MSU’s diversity, equity and inclusion policies and programs, according to an email to university leaders from the school’s General Counsel Brian Quinn and then-interim Provost Thomas Jeitschko.
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In April, the university ended affirmative action in hiring to comply with directives from the Trump administration. A Trump directive in January rescinded a decades-old requirement for institutions receiving federal funding to use affirmative action in hiring decisions. Trump’s order prohibited any federal contractor, such as a university receiving federal funding, from engaging in “workforce balancing based on race, color, sex, sexual preference, religion, or national origin.”
By May, MSU had lost nearly $6.5 million in previously guaranteed federal funding for 18 research projects.
The projects appeared to be those deemed by President Donald Trump’s administration as promoting diversity, equity and inclusion. Components of the projects with funding terminated focused on race, gender or equity.
In July, MSU said it would no longer use diversity, equity and inclusion statements in faculty reappointment, tenure or promotion decisions. At the same time, the university’s strategic plan, which leadership pointed to when asking faculty to submit DEI statements, has been removed from the university’s website. The university’s 2021 DEI plan was also no longer available online.
Amber McCann, a spokesperson for the university, told the State Journal in July 10 that both of the plans were under review.
The changes at MSU have been more subtle than those made at the University of Michigan, where in April, former President Santa Ono announced the closure of U-M’s Office of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion and other cuts in a statement posted to the university’s website. The move came as the Trump administration had threatened to pull federal funding for schools that don’t comply with his efforts to curtail DEI.
— Contact Karly Graham at kgraham@lsj.com. Follow her on X at @KarlyGrahamJrn.
This article originally appeared on Lansing State Journal: Michigan State University removes word ‘diversity’ from title of top DEI official
Reporting by Karly Graham, Lansing State Journal / Lansing State Journal
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