As universities across the country respond to President Donald Trump’s Executive Order eliminating diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives, one Arizona lawmaker is taking steps to ensure that Arizona’s universities are complying.
President Trump’s diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) ban applies to programs that receive federal money – that includes Arizona’s universities.
In response to the Order, Arizona State Senate President Warren Petersen blasted the heads of Arizona’s universities: Dr. Michael M. Crow, President of Arizona State University; Dr. Suresh Garimella, President of the University of Arizona; and Dr. José Luis Cruz Rivera, President of Northern Arizona University and requested that they “act to ensure your respective institutions fully comply with federal law that will affect your funding and standing with federal regulators.”
“Issuing a public call to create a compliance plan is necessary because your respective institutions all have troubling records when it comes to using resources to implement DEI programs,” wrote Petersen.
He then offered examples:
• Until the Board of Regents ended the practice in 2023, job postings at all three institutions often required statements addressing commitments to DEI.
• As late as 2023, ASU was identified as requiring all university faculty and staff to undergo inclusion training that, in part, espoused ideas that included “open[ing] the space to critique whiteness” and that “heterosexuality, the dominant sexual identity in American culture, is privileged by going largely unquestioned.”
• UofA currently maintains a Faculty Senate Standing Committee on DEI that includes, as part of its mission statement, a commitment to “to dismantling systemic and institutional racism, and we will protect the identity of the University of Arizona as a diverse and inclusive Land Grant University and Hispanic Serving Institution, which is situated upon the traditional lands of Indigenous Nations.”
• NAU in 2021 required that all students take 12 credits of “diversity requirements”—which reportedly could be met by such courses as “Intersectional Movements,” “Introduction to Queer Studies,” “Trans Existence and Resilience,” “Race, Power and Politics,” “Introduction to Indigenous Astronomy,” and “Multicultural Perspectives of Natural Resource Management”—as a condition to graduate.
“These examples, along with the fact that all three of your institutions continue to maintain “diversity” or “inclusion” departments that employ DEI-focused individuals, suggest that Arizona’s public institutions of higher education may be at risk of receiving enforcement-focused attention from federal regulators or law enforcement based on the Order,” notes Petersen.
“As President of the Senate, I have a strong interest in ensuring that taxpayer funds are not wasted through promoting or defending actions that increase risk for our public institutions,” argued Petersen in his letter. “Undertaking a proactive review of your institution’s DEI-related policies, procedures, activities, and expenditures—and identifying recommended adjustments that may be submitted for action by the Board of Regents—will show that Arizona is serious about complying with the Order and making any necessary adjustments before law enforcement or regulators get involved. In addition, such action will make it easier to quickly apply any future changes based on upcoming joint guidance from the Departments of Justice and Education.”
“Given the Order’s directives, I am requesting through this letter that your respective institutions each identify and publicly release a plan for complying with the Order,” wrote Petersen. “It is important that no Arizona public institution of higher education be named as one of the potential civil compliance investigatory targets that will be identified pursuant to Section 4(b) of the Order. Furthermore, it plainly is in Arizona’s best interests to have its state universities take a proactive approach towards ensuring (1) that its policies and procedures will allow your institutions to comply with any certification required of recipients of federal grants and contracts, and (2) that no DEI-related practice puts an institution at risk for unwanted regulatory attention.”
Schools are required to comply with federal and state civil rights laws that ensure educational opportunities are provided on an equal basis, giving Trump’s Order additional support and strength.
Bravo Warren Petersen. DEI has converted ASU’s criminal justice program into a police haters association. They even had the faculty sign an oath letter several years ago saying how the police are horrible racists and basically a criminal organization. Arizona Daily Independent should get a copy of this oath letter created by the Chair of the ASU Criminal Justice program and see who signed it. These same DEI propagandists who now teach at a leading research institution where they shape minds and create permanent research data were forcing new faculty to declare their allegiance to the DEI gods in the hiring process until another university was sued for this hiring practice. This has turned from a well-respected criminal justice endeavor created in the late 80’s to a modern DEI sewage pit where even Deans and University Vice Presidents fear or perhaps support. ASU needs to stop shaming our future crime fighters and protectors.
Ahh, the party of fake Christian racists.
Never liked Robson or Ducey…the go along to get along crowd has to go! The taxpayers dollars should be spent on what the majority voted for! Fiscal responsibility, equality NOT equity & transparency. If an institution does not show these qualities cut off the gravy train!
Who is Ducey?
it started with such stealth – never noted – just a touch here a touch there – till it invaded the nation! you want to be ‘different’ great – do it on your time and quarter. That does not effect the services.
Big Bill,
It is the Marxist plan, step one lie and project, step two boil the frog.
Wasn’t Karen Taylor Robson a Regent and thus also responsible for some of this stuff? Also Ducey, under whose nose much of this happened? Hobbs has only been Governor since Jan 2023.