Utah Gov. Spencer Cox addressed concerns over public universities closing student support centers in response to newly implemented legislation on Friday.
Cox clarified that a recently passed ban on “discriminatory” diversity, equity and inclusion practices in state institutions does not require colleges to close campus resource offices. But he acknowledged that bringing schools into compliance with the law was always going to be “a little bumpy.”
“These were not required to be closed. But the question is, how are we going to use those resources, and we want to use those resources, to make sure that we’re helping everybody,” Cox said during a press conference Friday morning broadcast on PBS.
All six of Utah’s public universities have modified student resource centers in response to the bill, either changing the names of their DEI offices or eliminating them and integrating the staff and services into broader student success centers. Most of the schools have announced the closure of multiple cultural centers while they look for ways to foster greater inclusivity of the entire student body in compliance with the law.
Cox said university presidents have told him that they are “going overboard to reach out to the students that are feeling impacted” during this time.
“We don’t want anyone to feel marginalized or pushed out. That was not the intention at all of this bill,” Cox said. “We want to make sure that they’re creating new spaces, healthy spaces, for people that, again, can involve all students and bring people together.”
What is Utah’s DEI ban?
The governor signed into law Equal Opportunity Initiatives, HB261, on Jan. 30. The bill requires that student success resources, like mentoring, scholarships and activities, be made available to all “high-risk” individuals based on need instead of other characteristics.
The bill prohibits practices that discriminate based on race, religion, sex or sexuality, and reaffirms the importance of institutional neutrality and free speech on campuses. The law went into effect on July 1.
While state funding can be withheld if institutions fail to address violations of the law, HB261 does not require offices previously associated with DEI, or spaces targeted toward certain groups — like Black, Hispanic or Native American centers — to close, as long as they do not engage in what the legislation calls “prohibited discriminatory practices.”
All new or currently existing cultural centers must be approved by the Utah Board of Higher Education to determine compliance with the law.
Prohibited practices include policies that promote differential treatment in hiring, admissions or program participation based on “personal identity characteristics”; trainings that assert the country is inherently racist or sexist; and requirements that applicants respond to questions about DEI.
Additionally, offices cannot have “diversity, equity and inclusion” in their name. Course content, academic research and federal scholarships are not to be impacted by the law.
Why did Utah universities close student centers?
Utah Commissioner of Higher Education Geoffrey Landward said in many cases universities have closed some or all of their cultural centers only temporarily so that they can bring them back in a way that fits their university mission and fits within the parameters of the new law.
“I think some people are seeing that process and mistaking it for ‘Oh, you’re just shutting down all your cultural centers,’” Landward told the Deseret News, explaining that universities are restructuring cultural centers to get approved by the Board of Higher Education. “So you’ll probably see some centers being brought back.”
But Landward said he has been honest with institutions of higher education that most cultural centers as they were previously set up “are hard to reconcile” with HB261 because “cultural centers by nature are designed for one particular group or another.”
The new law does not have specific instructions for cultural centers, but Landward said he has advised universities that these centers will probably have to shift their focus away from providing resources for targeted groups and toward creating an educational experience for all students.
“I think as we see how cultural centers function, it’s questionable whether or not this is going to work with the way the law was written,” he said.
Landward’s recommendation is, instead of having individual cultural centers for specific groups, universities should create “an umbrella organization” that can encompass many groups and serve the same educational purpose as a Black or Hispanic or LGBTQ center without having to pick or choose which groups to devote resources to.
“We want to preserve cultural education and cultural awareness and cultural celebration as an institution of higher education. I think that’s critical to its mission,” Landward said. “But do it in a way where you can be more inclusive of many groups, without having to say this group gets one and this group doesn’t. That’s exactly what HB261 was trying to address.”
HB261 likely to be amended in upcoming session
Cox has defended what he says is Utah’s unique approach to dealing with DEI student services, even writing a 5,000-word essay to explain his decision to sign it into law.
“If you read the actual text of the legislation, I think you’ll see that that is making a huge difference in the way that we’re approaching this,” Cox said on Friday.
But, Cox added, he also knows there will be at least some “unintended consequences of this legislation.”
“So now as we’re implementing, that’s where we find out what was working, what’s not working, how can we improve this and make it better?” Cox said. “I suspect that you’ll see as we head into the next months and into the next term, the next session, that you’ll see some changes, that you’ll see that there will be ways to make this better, to make more people feel included. And that’s the idea. It’s not to exclude, it’s to include.”
Landward also expects legislators to take a second look at Equal Opportunity Initiatives in the upcoming legislative session. Landward said the bill’s sponsors, Rep. Katy Hall, R-South Ogden, and Sen. Keith Grover, R-Provo, have been in “constant communication” with the state board of higher education to learn about what is working well and what problems are emerging.
“I don’t think we’ve found all the wrinkles quite yet,” Landward said.