By Mathew Gendle

In recent years, substantial resistance has grown against policies and programs in the U.S. that support diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) in higher education. Endeavors to legislate away equity efforts have been especially prominent in Texas, where elected officials have banned university DEI offices and related programming. Florida has also been an epicenter of anti-DEI backlash, as Gov. Ron DeSantis’ “anti-woke” policies have severely restricted what topics can be discussed in public classrooms.

Politicians may truly believe that they are engaged in an epic battle to save the country from a “woke mind virus” that they fear will lay waste to student achievement and American exceptionalism. But the simple fact is that if students are to be successful in their studies and in life, then a meaningful engagement with diversity and equity must be central to all higher education experiences.

Campus DEI efforts are fundamentally important for a variety of reasons. If students are to develop into effective and participatory citizens, they must first come to a complex understanding of the multiplicity of experiences, identities and viewpoints that they will encounter in the world. Diverse spaces in higher education create environments that foster this critical personal development.

Several long-standing structures and systems also persist that limit access to educational opportunities based on a variety of identities. This results in ongoing intergenerational inequities that can only be addressed through first learning about and then making a personal commitment to dismantle these harmful structures and systems. Shouldn’t working to remedy this ongoing harm in the greater interest of promoting justice and the common good be a priority for everyone, regardless of one’s political orientation? 

DEI efforts operate for the benefit of everyone — with the aspirational goal of fostering respect and understanding for a plurality of identities, viewpoints and personal experiences, as well as promoting socioeconomic and sociopolitical justice. This work is not a zero-sum game. In other words, advancing equity and justice for one identity group does not entail that rights, privilege and status must therefore be taken away from another identity group.

Everyone stands to gain from the creation of a higher education landscape that is diverse, accepting and provides equitable access for all. Campus DEI efforts are fundamentally about creating structures and systems that treat all people with respect, dignity and equity. This assertion that “a rising tide lifts all ships” is a simple application of the Golden Rule. I contend that this is a hopeful goal that all reasonable and caring people, regardless of political affiliation, should want to see come to fruition. Yet, many persist in interpreting this grand aspiration as “liberal bias” and actively wish to see it fail.

Opponents of DEI efforts often focus their criticism on infrequent cases where the so-called “woke agenda” in higher education has been inappropriately applied in ways that cause harm. For example, in the spring of 2023, an undergraduate at the University of Cincinnati received a grade of zero (along with an offer from the faculty to resubmit a revised work without penalty) on a class project proposal because she used the term “biological women,” which the instructor stated was “exclusionary” and “transphobic.” As a seasoned educational professional, I would have chosen a different approach — one that would have provided this student with a growth opportunity for further discussion and insight regarding the complexities of language and personal labels, rather than an initial failing grade that could later be corrected.

However, the existence of such occurrences in no way justifies the complete cessation of DEI efforts. There are thousands of cases of medical malpractice in the U.S. each year, yet there is no widespread movement to do away with modern medicine because of the greater overall good it imparts to society. Working to create more inclusive and equitable educational environments for all within higher education spaces is no different.

Current political and policy dialogues have laid bare the reality that many people in the U.S. do not find value in DEI efforts within higher education and may even see this work as some sort of horrifically harmful indoctrination. But this view couldn’t be further from the truth. I fundamentally believe that supporting DEI efforts in higher education is in everyone’s interest. When done well, equity programming seeks to make college and university spaces more available, welcoming, and inclusive for a remarkable spectrum of beliefs, worldviews, viewpoints, and personal experiences. This work really is for the benefit of us all, and as such, we all have a shared responsibility to support the continued evolution of higher education into more inclusive and equitable forms.

Mathew Gendle is director of Project Pericles and a professor of psychology at Elon University in Elon.