OU President Joseph Harroz Jr. and other university administrators gave updates and insight into the state of diversity, equity and inclusion efforts on campus to a group of student leaders Friday, saying no staff will be terminated as a result of Gov. Kevin Stitt’s December executive order calling for a review of DEI.
At a luncheon with the Vice President's Advisory Council, which is a group of student leaders that meets with the aim of connecting students and university officials, in the Oklahoma Memorial Union, Harroz and Vice President for Student Affairs and Dean of Students David Surratt confirmed that OU is currently reviewing its DEI offices, programs, trainings, activities and other related departments.
Harroz and Surratt clarified that no one at the university is losing their jobs as a result of the executive order.
“Nobody's losing their job,” Harroz said. “No one's losing their employment with the university because of these changes.”
The executive order, which Stitt signed in December, requires state agencies and universities to review the necessity and efficiency of DEI positions, departments, activities, procedures and programs.
The order requires universities and state agencies to be in compliance with the executive order by May 31. It also asks for a certificate of compliance and a report to be submitted to the governor, speaker of the Oklahoma House and Senate pro tempore.
The Oklahoma Legislature is expected to convene on Feb. 5 and typically finishes its business on the state budget by the end of May.
The order reads that “executive state agencies shall not utilize state funds, property or resources to grant or support diversity, equity, and inclusion positions, departments, activities, procedures, or programs to the extent that they grant preferential treatment based on one’s particular race, color, ethnicity, or national origin over another’s.”
In January 2023, Superintendent of Public Instruction Ryan Walters asked Allison Garrett, chancellor of higher education, to compile a 10-year review of its spending materials on current materials used for DEI in state higher education institutions.
The report found that there was about $10.2 million budgeted for DEI activities for the current fiscal year, of which the state contributed $3.7 million. This amounts to 0.29% of all higher education spending and 0.11% of state spending on higher education.
On Friday, university administrators and student leaders discussed questions and concerns about the executive order, including the possible effects on jobs, DEI language, scholarships and registered student organizations.
Surratt told the group that it is possible the university may review and change language on websites and in offices as the university reviews and complies with the executive order. Surratt said this language may be reviewed to be sure offices are explaining and possibly expanding their services to better serve all students.
“I don't want you to be surprised during the next few months when there's reviews of websites, conversations and looking at language that may be changed in certain offices to follow the law and also still maintain our services or expand our services in a way that meets our expectations and our mission for our institution,” Surratt said.
Harroz went further, saying the Division of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion as well as other DEI offices and roles will change their names as a result of the executive order.
“We know that the name of the office will change and some of the organizational components will change,” Harroz said. “But we will remain a place of true belonging.”
The University of Tennessee renamed its Division of Diversity and Engagement to the Division of Access and Engagement in November to move away from terminology some politicians have taken issue with, according to an article by The Daily Beacon, the university’s student newspaper.
Some registered student organizations leaders asked about how they can communicate and show support to their groups following this executive order as well as the future of potential funding, sponsorships and the fate of unregistered student organizations.
The executive order offers certain exemptions, such as the protections of registered student organizations. However, Surratt did not address or clarify how unregistered student groups might be affected by the executive order or possible legislation proposed that would ban DEI and related programming.
Surratt said current OU’s DEI training, programming, activities and more are all voluntary and therefore are protected from the executive order.
In December, OU wrote in a statement that the university is unwavering in its values and principles. The university wrote it is disappointed in the governor’s executive order, but says it is obligated to comply. OU said its ability to be the state’s flagship university and have increasing enrollment and diversity rates is because of its values and principles in diversity, equity and inclusion.
“These accomplishments and positive impact to the state would not be possible without the underlying values that serve as a constant north star for our university: access and opportunity for all of those with the talent and work ethic to succeed; being a place of belonging for all who attend; dedication to free speech and inquiry; and civility in our treatment of each other,” the statement read. “These principles transcend political ideology, and in them, we are unwavering.”
The American Civil Liberties Union of Oklahoma and other partners said OU misinterpreted the executive order in its statement, as first reported by KGOU and StateImpact. OU’s statement read that Stitt’s executive order outright banned all DEI programming and services, which was not the case.
Harroz sent a university-wide email about 2 hours after Stitt signed the order saying that the executive order eliminated DEI offices at all public higher education institutions in Oklahoma, including OU.
Harroz said Friday that OU doesn’t want to be quick to draw definitive conclusions about its impact.
As for scholarships and grants, Surratt said OU is continuing to review and ensure compliance with the law, but the university does not foresee scholarships being affected, especially for current students.
“We do not see any reason why scholarships are affected under our current processes,” Surratt said. “Obviously, we'll have to continue to review to ensure compliance with the law. But there, the current processes have existed and have been scrutinized, and there are no impacts that we anticipate on scholarships right now.”
Surratt said along with scholarships, recruitment processes, websites and communication will all be reviewed to comply with the executive order.
Harroz and Surratt did not specify which people or offices would specifically conduct the review, however, Surratt said the university might make a centralized website or ongoing communication to update the OU community on progress and answer some frequently asked questions.
“We're going to find out what it says and what it means,” Harroz said. “And then we're going to find out what we're going to do to make sure we maintain ourselves as a place of true belonging. That's what we do.”
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This story was edited by Peggy Dodd.
