In the receding waters of a mandate election, the flotsam of a woke agenda is slowly heading for the drainage system, so much so that Georgia has felt empowered to break free from the chokehold higher education has had on DEI and inclusivity mandates. The state will return the US Constitution to the classroom.
The University System of Georgia’s Board of Regents now focuses on institutional neutrality and education on America’s founding documents while prohibiting unnecessary DEI tactics. Is there hope after decades of indoctrination? That would be a cautious “yes” if parents send their offspring to the Peach State to earn a degree or two.
What makes the Board of Regents decision one to watch is that the University System of Georgia (USG) comprises 26 public colleges and universities. That’s a lot of power in leveling the academic indoctrination playing field. But also, the Georgia Public Library Service is part of the USG – do the math.
What it Means
“Ideological tests, affirmations, and oaths, including diversity statements,” are now taboo for admissions and employment processes for students and faculty, the USG’s Board of Regents stated in the November 12 published minutes.
Basically, bloviating over how diverse an applicant may be or parroting political talking points won’t help anyone get in the door. Sadly, for those accustomed to this X-factor for the DEI cult, “the basis and determining factor” for employment will be “that the individual possesses the requisite knowledge, skills, and abilities associated with the role, and is believed to have the ability to successfully perform the essential functions, responsibilities, and duties associated with the position for which the individual is being considered.”
The USG must be feeling its oats. They also included strong language in their edict about college athletics and the controversial subject of transgender players on women’s teams. The Regents passed a resolution asking the NCAA to mirror rules set by the not-as-prominent National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA), which require athletes to compete based on their sex at birth.
“Biologically female student-athletes could be put at a competitive disadvantage when student-athletes who are biologically male or who have undergone masculinizing hormone therapy compete in female athletic competitions,” the board said in its resolution. That is a polite understatement.
Georgia has officially unplugged and is now rebooting.
Is DEI Dead?
“DEI is for students with disabilities, veterans with PTSD, minority students, and students who are New Americans who may need extra help due to language or cultural barriers,” Laura Lanese, president and CEO of the Inter-University Council of Ohio, wrote in an open letter last May. “DEI helps more students achieve the American Dream of success via a college education.”
(Photo by Hans Gutknecht/MediaNews Group/Los Angeles Daily News via Getty Images)
Other DEI proponents like Paulette Granberry Russell, president of the National Association of Diversity Officers in Higher Education, point fingers at the US Supreme Court, blaming it for “dismantling at least 50 years of incremental progress, slow progress in addressing the needs of diverse students in higher education.” Well, to be fair, Russell may be in one of those now unnecessary career positions these days.
But let’s face it: even Education Secretary Miguel Cardona felt that DEI would be downsized.
“There are very deliberate attempts to seek division in our schools so that a private option sounds better for parents. Four years ago, were the masks. [Critical race theory] was a year after that. [Now,] DEI, banning books. Every year, there’s something to stoke division in an attempt to disrupt our public schools and decrease the confidence in our public schools.”
Yes, education is feeling the pressure.
The Domino Effect
The USG isn’t the only brave face of education. The University of Florida (UF) eliminated its DEI positions and office in March 2024 to comply with new state laws. They just said “no.” Enough.
Republican Governor Ron DeSantis pushed the laws that went into effect in March 2024, banning DEI offices at public colleges, the use of diversity statements, and identity-based preferences in hiring. Are we seeing a trend?
The University of North Carolina rewrote its policy to include everyone – not just the woke folks who needed a bit of coddling and additional safe spaces.
Maybe the real writing on the wall was the 2023 decision the US Supreme Court handed down to end race-conscious affirmative action in college admissions. The backdraft has positively reduced the headcount of universities facing a budget crisis and has cut administrative bloat.
Regardless, the US is watching an effort in real time to stop segregation and the us versus them mentality that has been one of the tenets of higher ed. Maybe Georgia just broke sacred ground. As the USG Board of Regents stated: “Colleges and universities not only equip students for the jobs of tomorrow, they also must prepare them to be contributing members of society and to understand the ideals of freedom and democracy that make America so exceptional.”
