Before Katherine Rose-Mockry dedicated 20 years of her career to helping women at the University of Kansas, she knew all too well the unfair treatment women sometimes experience in higher education.
When she was earning her bachelor’s degree in the 1970s, she said it was commonplace for male professors to treat women differently than their male peers. She was studying music performance, and some tried to steer her away from it.
“One of my professors took me aside and said, ‘You know, I think, as a female, you’re probably going to want to think about music (education),’” she said.
Now, the retired director of the former Emily Taylor Center for Women and Gender Equity wonders if she’s seeing all the progress women fought for in recent decades erode away.
“Just because progress has been made doesn’t mean it’s not necessary to keep (supporting women in college),” she said.
Programs that support women, Black people, LGBTQ+ students and students from other underrepresented groups have traditionally been broadly labeled as diversity, equity and inclusion — or DEI.
It was once a term known mostly in academia, but it’s recently been thrust into the political spotlight by President Donald Trump and other conservatives.
Trump has issued executive orders aimed at ending DEI programs at colleges altogether. That’s led universities in Kansas and elsewhere to make sweeping changes in an effort to protect their federal funding.
Trump and other critics argue the programs give people from marginalized backgrounds an unfair advantage based on their identity.
He spoke in front of Congress in March about ending pro-diversity hiring practices at the federal government.
“You should be hired and promoted based on skill and competence, not race or gender — very important,” Trump said.
Career professionals who have worked to support marginalized students, like Rose-Mockry, say that’s a mischaracterization of their work.
Rose-Mockry argues the programs help provide a level playing field, not an unfair leg-up. She said it’s as if disadvantaged students are carrying three extra backpacks.
“When people come into college and there are insurmountable barriers, there is no way they can work to their capability,” Rose-Mockry said.
How are Kansas colleges responding?
Kansas universities have largely scrubbed their websites for mentions of diversity, equity and inclusion. Many have consolidated or renamed existing offices in an effort to comply with state and federal guidelines.
Last April, the Kansas Board of Regents also prohibited universities from requiring employees to affirm their support of DEI, sometimes called DEI oaths.
Months later, KU renamed and combined several offices, including the Emily Taylor Center, the Office of Multicultural Affairs and the Center for Sexuality and Gender Diversity. They are now housed together in the Student Engagement Center.
Students and faculty protested the decision, saying it would potentially deplete resources for students from marginalized backgrounds.
KU has said the consolidation increases its capacity to promote the programs with greater reach and efficiency. The university said the decision was made based on guidance from the National Association of Student Personnel Administrators. It did not cite the ban on DEI oaths in its decision.
In response to the recent executive orders, the Lawrence Journal-World reports that KU is also looking to change certain identity-based scholarships.
At Wichita State University, administrators canceled commencement events celebrating diversity and moved some elements to a single event. The university told student newspaper The Sunflower that the celebrations were exclusionary and out of compliance.
WSU also told The Sunflower that students could still express their cultural backgrounds at graduation.
Kellie Schmick, a master’s student at Washburn University, said she fears the changes mean colleges will become less supportive for underrepresented students.
“It’s so important to let minority voices be heard, and let all opinions, attitudes and ideals … be represented and heard,” she said.
And researchers say institutional support can be key in helping students from underserved populations succeed.
Briana McGeough is an assistant professor at KU whose research focuses on the mental health of LGBTQ+ people. She said without enough tailored support, students from marginalized backgrounds may feel more isolated.
“A lot of these programs do contribute to this sense of belonging and sense of wellbeing, as well as academic success,” McGeough said.
The Kansas News Service reached out to WSU and KU for additional comment. Neither responded immediately.
Kansas State University responded to an inquiry with a link to a general information page on their website.
Pittsburg State University responded with a written statement:
“Pittsburg State University will comply with all federal rules and do so within the timeframe allotted by the latest guidance. We are already in compliance with most of the executive order, and are staying current with court challenges that might shift requirements.”
‘Chilling effect’
Laura Beltz is the director of policy reform for the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression (FIRE) — a Libertarian-leaning group that advocates for free speech rights on college campuses.
She said the group supports getting rid of DEI oaths, as Kansas did, so employees are not forced to support a specific ideology. Still though, she argues some universities may be going too far and over-complying with state and federal guidelines.
The schools face a challenge. They can comply and risk angering students and advocates, or push back against the DEI-elimination efforts and risk government funding.
“They are, to a certain extent, between a rock and a hard place,” Beltz said. “But I also think that it’s possible that some folks are kind of looking for the opportunity to over-comply and to violate students’ rights.”
She said the ever-changing federal guidelines may be creating a chilling effect. That’s when people in an institution become scared to speak out publicly for fear of retaliation.
“If you speak out against the federal government, then there may be consequences,” Beltz said. “Students are going to be concerned about things like surveillance of social media.”
Harvard, a private school, has refused to cooperate with the executive orders. In response, Trump said the school should lose its tax-exempt status.
Hundreds of U.S. colleges signed a letter condemning the executive orders as unprecedented government overreach. No Kansas schools joined the letter.
Daniel Caudill reports on the Kansas Statehouse and government for Kansas Public Radio and the Kansas News Service. You can email him at dcaudill@ku.edu.
The Kansas News Service is a collaboration of KCUR, Kansas Public Radio, KMUW and High Plains Public Radio focused on health, the social determinants of health and their connection to public policy.
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