Assault on learning

The assault on learning began during the Trump administration, with repeated criticisms of educators as liberal elites who were undermining American values and teaching divisive concepts. Trump doubled down in his 2024 bid to return to the White House with a strategy to intervene through control of accreditation "to get this anti-American insanity out of our institutions once and for all." Trump and DeSantis appear to be in a contest of who can be most convincing in their attacks.

My previous blog titled Ideological Feuds Continue offered a summary of anti-education initiatives, a time when Governor of Florida, Ron DeSantis, was not on the radar. Now he and his assault on learning are front and center. The methodical steps DeSantis has taken are ominous and represent an invasion into controlling higher education not witnessed in generations. DeSantis' declaration to run for U.S. President took his social conservativism to the national level but attacking diversity initiatives in higher education date back to a 2022 plan in Texas. The unfolding story includes a mind-boggling number of examples of higher education under attack:

• The College Board denied having negotiated with Florida officials in the modification of its AP African American Studies course, although many of the triggering ideas/words for conservatives were eliminated. Some weeks later, the College Board announced modification of the controversial AP course but Florida officials committed to developing their own alternative. Florida state officials and the College Board continued to squabble over the AP course for Psychology. Florida's ban of course content eventually caused the College Board to remove recognition of students' enrollment in the course but then the education commissioner reversed course, saying that the AP course would be taught without modification.
• In addition to the challenge to AP courses, the Florida approved a controversial alternative to SAT and ACT for admission testing. The CLT measures students' knowledge of texts central to the "western and Christian cannon."
• A bit late to the game, Arkansas followed Florida in canceling the state's AP course in African American Studies the week before students returned to class.
• While there are different views of whether or not DeSantis' anti-diversity initiatives are defensible, the fact that they focus on views to which he objects are pretty obvious.
• As a result of DeSantis' power-wielding, two Republican politicians now serve as Presidents at the University of Florida and the New College and a third was proposed for Florida Atlantic University. Florida's rush to hire politicians as presidents may result in benign presence (such as Ben Sasse at the Univ. of FL) or outright incompetence in other cases.
• A University of Florida Board member offered travel and golf simulation training as gifts to Disantis.
• New College of Florida Trustees voted to defund the Office of Outreach and Inclusive Excellence, serving as a prelude to the legislative attack on diversity, equity, and inclusion across the state. The next step was beginning to deny tenure to five faculty due to "extraordinary circumstances." One of the denied professors sued the New College and the state of Florida board. 
• Interim President of New College asked seven faculty to abandon their tenure bids before their credentials were sent to the Board.
• A 2nd LGTQ+ staffer at New College, a librarian was fired. A critic of the conservative take-over of New College was denied renewal as a visiting professor.
• The Director of Gender Studies at New College resigned in protest of Board denial of tenure and involvement in cultivating Florida's anti-LGBTA+ climate.
• Amid defunding diversity initiatives and denying faculty tenure, New College has received a massive infusion of new state funding and proposed a $400 million makeover.
• The motivation behind the New College take-over was based on its presumed liberal leaning curriculum, although The Atlantic reported that Republican appointees were behind the adoption of its modest DEI focus.
• Apparently there are some limits to pushing conservatives into leadership, as evidenced by the Florida Senate's "left pending" decision on one of DeSantis' picks for the New College Trustees.
• Eighty percent of the New College faculty voted to censure the Trustees for failing to perform its fiduciary responsibility in protecting its vision and reputation.
• New College faculty are leaving in a tidal wave that created gaping holes in the curriculum, leaving the institution in chaos as the new academic year is poised to begin.
• Hiring decisions for replacements of New College have given preference to connections with the Republican party rather than relevant experience.
• New College was able to add a new first-year student seminar based on the Odyssey, a move signaling a return to "traditional" literary sources.
• Author of "The Case for Colonialism," Bruce Gilley, will serve as the New College's Presidential Scholar in Residence. The appointment is consistent with New College being a haven for conservative scholars and scholarship.
•  all the New College turmoil, a new Vice President for Communications was hired. Fired two months into the job, he was fired for not fighting the media.
• As New College's student retention dropped, Hampshire College offered New College students refuge from its shrinking faculty and fear of declining quality.
• Colorado College offers HAVEN to students who want to transfer from institutions in DEI-hostile states, another refuge for students seeking an alternative to New College.
• A new Florida legislative bill provides the policy platform to allow DeSantis' agenda to be implemented, including defunding all DEI programs, which he signed into law.
• The University of Florida dismantled all DEI programs in response to the legislative mandate. DeSantis commented, "DEI is toxic and has no place in our public universities," reinforcing his pioneering role pushing the conservative agenda forward.
• The Florida Board of Governors' "intent to adopt" anti-DEI regulations broadly defined diversity initiatives and activism, causing fears of declining freedom of speech.
• The Florida Education Commissioner has proposed removing the Sociology course included in general education curriculum in public institutions. The claim is that it is to make room for a civil literacy course but many believe it is to remove DEI content.
• Seven former presidents of Florida institutions authored an op-ed "Enough is Enough" to call attention to the dangers higher education faces as political agendas continue to be imposed.
• Micromanagement in Florida has even moved to the State Board of Education issuing a rule to punish anyone who uses a bathroom not aligned with the sex they were assigned at birth.
• Florida bannned the Students for Justice in Palestine organization at its public campuses based on Hamas' designation as a terrorist organization. The ACLU discouraged campuses nationwide from investigate comparable groups.
• Countering Florida's legislation, Chief U.S. Court District Judge Walker said that Florida "has taken over the 'marketplace of ideas' to suppress disfavored viewpoints and limit where professors may shine their light..."
• The implication of political intervention and attempts to control curriculum could well lead to denial of continuing accreditation of public universities in Florida. DiSantis' retaliatory law suit against the Biden administration over accreditation takes it up another level, with the U.S. Department of Education ultimately allowing Florida institution's move away from the Southern Association for accreditation. The suit challenges the constitutionality of accreditation by ceding "unchecked power" to private accrediting agencies, a claim the Biden administration has challenged.
• As a backdrop to the DeSantis take-over of education in Florida and the resulting political meddling in search processes, multiple searches for senior administrators at Florida institutions have failed. Although reluctant to comment, some search firms may begin to decline to engage with Florida institutions.
• When the Florida Atlantic University search for a president halted, Democrats questioned why. The Florida Board of Governors' investigation into the FAU search raised concern that the move may be designed to benefit the favored DeSantis candidate, Randy Fine. The Florida Attorney General was asked to look into the FAU selection process, noting a candidate survey that included questions about sexual orientation and gender identity. The Florida AG determined that the candidate poll violated Florida's sunshine law and later called for a complete restart of the selection process. The FAU Presidential search was unsuccessful and the Board chair resigned. The process restarted in early summer of 2024.
• The American Council on Education and PEN America offered a guidebook to defend academic freedom which includes acknowledging conservative students' feeling they are silenced by peers.
• A faculty member at Oregon State University offered advice on teaching and thriving behind enemy lines, an essay potentially offering hope for faculty in states where attack by conservatives is most intense.
• The irony of attacking DEI offices is that doing so may suppress religious expression, eliminating support for evangelical Christians on campus.
• Recognizing the reticence of college presidents to speak out about academic freedom and tenure issues, PEN America convened 100 former college presidents to oppose conservative influences. 
• The President of Broward College resigned without cause, although intervention by the chair at Broward may represent the increasingly difficult squeeze that presidents in Florida are experiencing.
• Allies of DeSantis were appointed Presidents of Broward College and another confirmed as permanent President at New College. Within hours of being named President, Henry Mack III was out at Broward.
• Choosing to appoint DEI critics to the Florida Polytechnic Board, DeSantis demonstrated no hesitation in his efforts to root out anything he judges to be liberal.
• Higher education leaders in Florida are being challenged to not compromise academic freedom and to be honest about changes they are making to comply with DeSantis' and others' political intervention.
• The AAUP eventually sanctioned New College as well as Spartansburg Community College in South Carolina for significant non-compliance with standards of academic practice.
• The 40 higher education presidents in Florida's state system have been silent, drawing criticism from faculty and students. Robert Birnbaum called for them to resign in protest.
• An AAUP report primarily focused on New College but more broadly applicable to U.S. higher education called for educators to fight what it termed as racially and ideologically motivated attacks "tooth and nail."
• The AAUP joined Florida faculty members who sued over the "Stop WOKE Act," which prohibits professors at Florida's public universities from expressing certain veiwpoints while teaching about race, sex, and injustice.
• Florida banned DEI funding and replaced a Principles of Sociology course in the continuing attack in 2024.
• Florida International University ended its Chinese partnership programs, likely caused by concerns over Chinese involvement in U.S. education as well as hostility toward diversity.
• The 1960s vintage "Teach In" is one way educators can resist the targeting of diversity and critical theory initiatives on campus and staging them in Florida requires some real courage.
• Another of DiSantis' strategies to attack higher education in Florida is the threat to disband unions.
• The House weaponization of the federal government has begun to target institutions and academics it alleges are part of a "censorship industrial complex." The Respecting the First Amendment on Campus Act was floated as a way to address "illiberalism, intolerance, and radical ideology amongst students and faculty."
• The next Republican wave appears to focus on environmental, social, and governance (ESG) funding. University endowment funds could be restricted from targeting ESG investments if Republicans are successful in 18 states.
• The Arizona Board of Regents and the University of Missouri system removed diversity statements as part of employment reviews. The replacement in the Missouri example sounds a lot like a commitment to the value and commitment of diversity in learning. Legislation in South Carolina prohibited diversity statements but stopped short of defunding DEI programs.
• Tennessee passed legislation for students to report professors who violate the 16 "divisive concepts" previously passed. Among the first states on the offense, Tennessee came back in 2024 with more legislation to prohibit "divisive concepts" in its public universities.
• North Dakota's anti-DEI legislation is the first to be signed into law and will go into effect August 1, 2023.
• Wisconsin Republicans proposed cutting all DEI funding ($32 million) from the state budget which resulted in a standoff over the entire state budget.
• The University of Arkansas dismantled its DEI division and reassigned EEOC to its HR office. The question is if the move is capitulation or a savvy strategy to retain the essence of DEI dispersed to other administrative areas.
• Some University of Virginia Trustees would like to see the university collect information about the political ideologies of its faculty and students and publish it on its Dashboard. UVa officials said that tracking political ideology was not being seriously considered.
• Virginia Commonwealth University officials claimed that delay of the implementation of a new cultural literacy requirement in the curriculum was due to lack of resources yet those who worked on the model questioned that rationale.
• The VCU course and another at George Mason University are under scrutiny by conservative legislators.
• Ohio legislation to restrict DEI programs did not have enough support to put it to a vote.
• Out of apparent fear of retribution, the University of South Carolina's education college removed the statement, "We prepare educators to have strong knowledge of their specialty areas; to be proficient in culturally relevant, anti-racist, pro-Black instruction" and removed "diversity" in the title of its Vice President of "Access, Civil Rights, and Community Engagement."
• Legislation was introduced to defund DEI in Iowa's public institutions and the Iowa Board of Regents subsequently approved reducing DEI funding at its three public universities. 
• Oklahoma's Governor signed an executive order mandating reviews and cuts to DEI, a move lauded by Florida's New College President as "we're just getting started."
• Utah banned DEI programs and prohibits candidates for employment being asked about their views related to diversity.
• The State Senate of Kentucky advanced a bill to prohibit DEI initiatives in its state institutions. Noting the threat of the legislation, the presidents of the state's 2 largest institutions defended DEI work on their campuses. Kentucky's Attorney General declared DEI initiatives as unconstitutional, citing the recent Supreme Court ruling against affirmative action. Ultimately, the GOP-led legislation was not adopted, lacking the votes required for approval.
• Proposed legislation in Indiana would mandate post-tenure review of faculty for "intellectual diversity" by governing boards. The bill is moving to the Governor for signature. If enacted, the post-tenur review could be used to punish faculty whose political views don't align with governing boards.
• Indiana University became a battleground for academic freedom issues as a result of sanctioning a tenured professor who assisted a pro-Palestinian student group as well as the cancellation of an art exhibit that included pro-Palestinian reflections.
• Alabama legislation followed the model of other conservatives in banning DEI in public institutions, including universities. Viewed as the most restrictive proposal yet, free speech advocates are most fearful of the "gag order" it would impose on faculty. It would also prohibit access to bathrooms for anyone outside of their assigned sex at birth. The Republican controlled legislature passed it and the Governor signed it into law.
• A Kansas legislative bill prohibiting diversity statements in hiring of employees and admitting students calls for a $10,000 fine for each occurrence.
• Legislation in Arizona will allow students to challenge professors on grades based on students' assertion of political bias. In addition, response to budget problems at the University of Arizona resulted in a GOP bill to limit to faculty input in governance in general.
• A bill proposed by North Carolina's Republican Congressman Greg Murphy would prohibit funding of public medical schools that include DEI material in their curriculum. Questions about North Carolina politics were also raised in the firing of 4 LGBTQ+ staff leaders at Appalachian State University. The UNC System Board moved to repeal DEI on its campuses.
• The Wyoming law defunding DEI offices allowed the funding to remain in place for diversity-related programs.
• Iowa Republicans passed last-minute legislation to ban DEI and diversity statements in public higher education.
• The demonization of higher higher education, legislation to undermine it, and replacing it with conservative voices can be traced as far back as Supreme Court Justice Powell's 1971 memo, "Attack on American Free Enterprise System." 
• It's important to understand that assaults on education are not unprecedented. Attempts to "deinstitutionalize" have occurred before but DeSantis' attacks are coming faster and are converging with federal initiatives such as the House Republican's "protect free speech" move as well as proposals to overhaul higher education funding.
• As the tidal wave of attacks continued, the evidence of successful conservative impact was mixed. DEI suffered the most but tenure either survived in part or entirely.
• The DeSantis attack represents the "refuse to lose" commitment of conservatives to subjugate higher education to a role as a mouthpiece for the state.
• By December of 2023 the AAUP issued a report that DeSantis is part of a world-wide attack on democracy.
• PEN America warned of 6 Bills that are dangerous for higher education in the U.S.A.
• The new Governor of Louisiana insisted on interviewing the proposed head of the state's higher education system, a move signaling the intent to control higher education policy in the state.
• Challenging autonomy of higher education institutions in Europe may reflect the emergence of conservative attack there as well.
• The Texas Regents severed the relationship with Qatar Foundation, which hosted Texas A&M, at Education City. Some view the decision as based on partisanship and misinformation.
• Capturing negative sentiment about elite universities' response to the Hamas attack and Israel's retaliation, Senator Tom Cotton's (R-Arkansas) proposed bill would levy a 6% tax on university endowments to fund support for Israel, Ukraine, and increase U.S. border security.

Higher education needs to gear up for more as DeSantis models a conservative playbook from the Manhattan Institute, which includes his upping the ante at every opportunity, including a threat to remove all AP courses in Florida schools. "defunding DEI programs - which he (DeSantis) called 'hostile to academic freedom' - will make them 'wither on the vine.'" While DeSantis works to starve out DEI commitments and subject faculty to post-tenure review, the methods used are likely to lead to loss of innovation in Florida. It is well known that Ron DeSantis has modeled his strategies after the previous Ron (Ronald Reagan), The particularly frightening part of that is that Reagan was successful in his attack on higher education in California and rode on to be elected President of the U.S.A. DeSantis has another ally or comrade in Virginia Foxx, conservative from North Carolina, who is rabidly consistent in her condemnation of higher education. Her bias was obvious in her defense of Liberty University when it was fined $14 million for Clery Act Violations. Without acknowledging Liberty's violations, Foxx opined, "This administration's intentional destruction of religious freedom protections is abhorrent."

The meeting of conservatives in March 2024 touted a seize the moment mindset as attendees strategized ways to continue to challenge DEI and the broader credibility of U.S. higher education institutions. Jay Greene, senior fellow at Heritage's Center for Education Policy, asserted that hitting administrators and supports of DEI in the pocketbook will be the most effective way forward.

Actions and reactions to DeSantis's attacks reflect support as well as resistance. The dean and provost of Palm Beach Atlantic University served notice to a professor for 20+ years who included a racial injustice unit in his course, resulting in protests and petitions in support of the professor. A State College of Florida Art Exhibit was cancelled as a result of college officials objecting to "diversity" and "inclusion" in the title of the exhibit. Valencia College deleted "equity" in its mission and replaced it with "creating the rights conditions" to help students succeed. A professor was fired at Palm Beach Atlantic (a private Christian college) after a parental complaint that he was indoctrinating students. The John Hopkins DEI chief resigned after criticism for referencing "privileged" groups in a campus newsletter.

DEI improves learning for everyone, especially as the demographic profile of higher education shifts. Strategies such as the new required course at the University of Arizona on "American Institutions" reflects this purpose by including both positive and negative aspects of U.S.A. civic history. However, civic learning can be addressed through multiple lenses and exactly how the University of Arizona course will emerge will be something to watch.

Wouldn't it be interesting if instead of withering out of financial neglect, the DeSantis and Manhattan Institute strategy resulted in the dissemination of DEI content throughout higher education curriculum and programs? Gaslighting DEI has attempted to stamp them out. However, the impact of resistance has perhaps resulted in DEI initiatives becoming more infused in a variety of places and processes rather than confined to the diversity office or a small number of dedicated educators. Some institutional communication consultants recommend renewed and refined advocacy for DEIB (adding "belonging"), which is a value that is difficult to deny.

Gregg Abbott, the Governor of Texas, appears to be in a race with DeSantis. A memo from the Governor's office went out to public institutions warning them that using DEI practices in hiring risked violating Texas state and federal laws. UT system institutions initially paused DEI practices and then struggled to modify their approaches as the January 2, 2024, deadline loomed. UT in Austin closed its former DEI division. The Texas Senate approved a variety of "anti-woke" actions but opposition in the House will likely result in modification. However, legislative action was apparently the cause of the botched hire and subsequent $1 million settlement with Texas A&M's journalism star. The claim of viewpoint discrimination by a conservative associate professor in the University of Texas' business school will likely be embraced by Abbot and his supporters as an example of DEI being imposed on faculty and in curriculum and programs. The University of Houston eliminated its anti-racism statement after a conservative professor's complaint and will close its Office of Diversity & Inclusion and LGBTQ+ resource center. The University of Texas system Board of Trustees voted to establish a Civitas Institute dedicated to the "study and teaching of individual liberty, limited government, private enterprise and free markets" on the Austin campus. While money poured into the Civitas Institute, DEI programs were dismantled across Texas, which will likely contribute to halting the progress of Latino students.

DeSantis, Abbott, and Youngkin of Virginia look as if they might be using similar strategies to position themselves for a 2024 US Presidential run. Diversity initiatives at both the University of Virginia and Virginia Military Institute have faced challenges.With each attempting to determine what worked in the Trump strategy of 2016, it appears that indicting higher education as the bastion of elite liberalism might be one of their planks.

Conservative voices are also seen in increasing activism of conservative student groups who sponsor deliberately provocative speakers such as Kyle Rittenhouse as well as in conservative student publications. Some institutions are trying to walk a line that straddles both liberal and conservative perspectives. UNC Chapel Hill announced the creation of a center that surprised some on campus, the purpose of which was unclear to some faculty. UNC's initiative was defended by the CEO of the American Council of Trustees and Alumni but others warn that partisan infighting is putting the university at risk. The "civic life" initiative proceeded anyway. Hundreds of UNC Chapel Hill faculty protested "overreach" of the Boards of Governors and Trustees and a report about statewide governance of higher education indicates that improvement is needed. New governance approaches have been proposed but some view the changes as increasing rather than decreasing polarization, a dynamic echoed in Utah's overhaul of its higher education governance. Rumbles about UNC's med school resulted when a diversity task force's recommendations met mixed implementation.

Anti-CRT moves exploded from 2021 to 2022 to prohibit "divisive concepts" in K-12 and higher education curriculum. The assault on DEI may present a critical juncture as those not previously involved in DEI work realize that it, CRT, is simply an examination of historical and contemporary evidence for viewpoint and bias. Recognizing the defense mechanisms such examination engenders and incorporating straightforward analysis of objective evidence allows educators to expose the problems our world must face in order to improve. So much of higher education research, scholarship, and teaching is about identifying problems, testing solutions, and proposing new innovations to enhance individuals and communities.