Colleges and universities are still figuring out how the Trump Administration's proposed diversity, equity and inclusion bans will affect them.
The Trump administration issued a memo this month giving schools two weeks to halt any practice that treats people differently because of their race or lose federal funding. The two weeks are now up.
For many colleges and universities, the directives remain unclear and few New York institutions have rushed to make any announcements. SUNY Chancellor John King maintains that diversity, equity and inclusion are a part of the SUNY mission.
"The bottom line is we're going to follow the law," King said. "And the law protects the First Amendment. The law protects the right of campuses and teachers to tell the truth about historical events, read books like Toni Morrison. And so we're going to continue to do that on our campuses. We also are going to be careful to make sure that our campuses are safe, supportive environments for all of our students."
King said some of the federal directives may be influenced by federal judge's decision to largely block an executive order that sought to end government support for programs promoting diversity, equity and inclusion. He said SUNY maintains consistency with the law.
"We have diversity, equity, inclusion initiatives that are consistent with the law," King said. "We have chief diversity officers on our campuses. We have coursework where students engage with the truth about our history, learn about things like slavery and the civil rights movement."
Private universities are also feeling the impacts. In a statement released by Cornell University, Interim President Michael Kotlikoff maintained commitments to "opportunity and access" and "merit-based decisions." Kotlikoff's statement also read the university's understanding, "None of the recent federal guidance limits the academic freedom of our community to research or study any subject."
It is unclear how quickly federal investigations could be conducted to result in a loss of funding.
