On Friday, the University of Alaska Board of Regents, which oversees the University of Alaska, voted to comply with the Trump administration’s executive order barring diversity, equity & inclusion (DEI) programs from any schools that receive federal funding. The vote was nearly unanimous, with only one holdout.
The University of Alaska Board of Regents directed President Pat Pitney on Friday to take all necessary actions to comply with President Donald Trump’s executive orders to end the discriminatory practice known as “diversity, equity, inclusion.” Failure to do so may risk federal funding.
Alaska is especially vulnerable here. The state leads the nation in the amount of federal funding in education, at $4370 per student per year. The 2023 Department of Education’s total budget reflects $410,535,971 sent to Alaska for all educational purposes, including grants, student loans, and other expenditures.
That money, of course, was taken from the states – actually, from the taxpayers – filtered through the Brodignagian federal bureaucracy, and then dribbled back out to the states. Alaska is no exception, although the Last Frontier’s exposure is alarmingly high – which, perhaps, led to the Board of Regents’ vote. The vote ensured that, for now, Alaska would comply with the EO.
In a motion that passed almost unanimously by the board, which was meeting in Kenai, the regents gave guidance to Pitney to ensure the university is not discriminating. The motion says that Pitney should direct the chancellors of the campuses to review and amend their campus policies, and ensure their websites, electronic, and printed material and other communications no longer refer to “affirmative action,” “DEI,” or utilize the words “diversity, equity, inclusion,” or other associated words that describe the discriminatory practices that were emphasized during the Biden Administration. Anyone with those words in their job titles must have those job titles and work portfolio changed.
Now, the astute reader may note that last sentence: “Anyone with those words in their job titles must have those job titles and work portfolio changed.” That would appear to leave some wiggle room in the order; we have seen, in some other such cases, where the presence of DEI programs remained, and those programs were just renamed, the divisive purpose hidden behind a veil of fuzzy terminology.
President Trump has been, throughout the campaign and since he resumed office, determined to stamp DEI programs out of the government and out of the education system.
See Related:
GOP Rep. Condemns Over $10M in ‘DEI Grants’ for Universities to Study Transgender Lab Animals
The DOGE Bites Again—Slashes Huge Amount From Education Dept., Including $100M for DEI
In Alaska, it would be great to see none of those shenanigans attempted. The proof, as they say, is in the pudding. This vote is encouraging – but it remains to be seen how, precisely, the directive will be carried out.
Oh, and remember when we noted that the vote was nearly unanimous?
Only the student regent, Albiona Selimi, voted against the motion. She majors in political science with minors in justice and women’s studies.
Women’s studies. You don’t say.
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