After years of touting its diversity, equity and inclusion efforts, Emory University made a 180-degree turn this week by announcing it will terminate its DEI offices and programs.
The decision further signals that President Donald Trump’s anti-DEI efforts are finding success and leaves many students wondering what will change at Georgia’s largest private Atlanta university.
“I think a lot of people were in shock,” said Sohan Bellam, a senior who serves on the student government association. “There’s a lot of confusion and uncertainty because of the lack of specificity of what is DEI and what they actually are planning on closing.”
Bellam said many students look to campus groups for support, such as the Black Student Alliance, Asian Student Center and Office of LGBT Life. It’s unclear if those organizations will continue to exist.
Interim president Leah Ward Sears announced the move Wednesday afternoon, just her third official day on the job. Her message to the university community did not detail what offices and personnel would be impacted, and Emory declined Thursday to provide more specifics, including whether academic programs would be affected.
But her message alluded to the Trump administration, referencing “federal law and mandates” which require universities “to alter fundamentally or even close offices and programs focused on DEI.”
Credit: Courtesy photo
Credit: Courtesy photo
The administration’s policies and investigations have created a “chilling effect,” making Emory the most recent institution to shutter its DEI programs, said Veronica Goodman, senior director for workforce development policy at the left-leaning Center for American Progress.
“This is an alarming trend gaining traction among U.S. colleges and universities,” Goodman wrote in a statement, calling it a setback for higher education access and economic mobility. “It’s more important than ever for institutions to fight back and stand behind their values.”
At Emory, those values have long included diversity and inclusivity. The school has won multiple awards for those efforts, and some students say that focus is what drew them to the school.
“This was a commitment that Emory had made to students,” said Zoe Grotjan, a senior from St. Louis and vice president of the student government association. “I think slowly it feels like that’s been crumbling.”
Credit: Zoe Grotjan
Credit: Zoe Grotjan
Grotjan was referring to the school’s July announcement that it would part ways with Enku Gelaye, the dean of campus life, as well as Kristina Bethea Odejimi, the associate vice president for belonging, engagement and community and dean of students.
Sears brought up Emory’s values in her Wednesday message. “Closing offices or reimagining lawful programs is not, after all, the same as ending our unwavering commitment to fairness, belonging, and opportunity for all, values that are part of Emory’s DNA,” Sears wrote.
Elizabeth Brubaker, a senior and member of the student government association, disagrees. “It hurts your reputation as having those values because you’re backing down and you’re not saying ‘I’m willing to fight for this,’” Brubaker said, adding that she and her classmates are upset with the decision.
Credit: Elizabeth Brubaker
Credit: Elizabeth Brubaker
American Pride Rises, a DEI advocacy organization headed by an Emory alumna, released a statement Thursday calling the decision “a way to appease political pressure rather than honor the values that have defined Emory for generations.”
The Georgia NAACP said in a statement Wednesday it is “gravely concerned” about Emory’s announcement and asked for a meeting with university leadership to learn more about the changes.
Trump has issued multiple executive orders targeting DEI programs since taking office in January. One such order said that universities “have adopted and actively use dangerous, demeaning, and immoral race- and sex-based preferences under the guise of so-called ‘diversity, equity, and inclusion’ … that can violate the civil rights laws of this Nation.”
With his administration terminating thousands of grants that many universities — particularly research universities like Emory — rely on, many institutions have become wary of drawing the ire of the federal government. Emory was awarded more than $784 million in federal grants in fiscal year 2024, according to a recent financial statement.
Professor Noëlle McAfee, president of the Emory University Senate, is withholding judgment on the decision until she learns more about the reasoning behind it.
Credit: handout
Credit: handout
“I don’t know whether or not I would’ve done the same thing, but let’s not be distracted from the real problem. The Trump administration is forcing higher education to waste its time on matters like this when we really need to be educating students,” McAfee said, adding that the federal government is using its power to “terrify and terrorize.”
“We need to be as brave as we can be,” she said.
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