(The Lion) — A public university in a red state is taking action to combat diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) initiatives on campus.
Wichita State University in Kansas recently directed its employees to remove “gender identifying pronouns or gender ideology” from their school email account signatures to comply with state law, Campus Reform reports.
The Republican-controlled Kansas Legislature included a provision in its recently enacted fiscal year 2026 budget preventing state agencies from having DEI offices and promoting “gender ideology.” This includes restrictions on DEI positions, training and contracts.
Additionally, agencies must remove “gender identifying pronouns or gender ideology from email signature blocks on state employees’ email accounts and any other form of communication,” the law says.
Wichita State Provost Monica Lounsbery announced the policy change last month. All faculty and staff must comply by July 15.
Wichita State also plans to change its Inclusive Excellence web page.
“WSU seeks to be a campus that reflects and promotes – in all community members – the evolving diversity of society,” the page says.
A notice at the top of the page reads, “This content is being reviewed in light of recent changes to state and federal laws, orders, and guidance.”
An archived version of the page from February shows it included statistics such as the percentage of first-generation undergraduate students (47.5%), number of international students enrolled (2,843) and percentage of students from so-called underserved communities (56.2%), among other figures.
The school also canceled graduation ceremonies last month for LGBT and immigrant students, replacing it with an event including everyone.
“The Toast – a celebratory event scheduled prior to graduation – is open to students of all backgrounds, interests and majors and will offer students an opportunity to express their cultural and academic backgrounds with a selection of cords that can be worn at graduation,” a school statement read.
Meanwhile, colleges in other states have also made changes in response to anti-DEI laws, most notably in Ohio.
Ohio University recently announced it would close its DEI offices in response to a recently enacted state law preventing taxpayer dollars from funding DEI initiatives.
“The Advance Ohio Higher Education Act requires that we no longer operate a Division of Diversity and Inclusion, and as such, over the next several weeks, we will sunset the division, including the Multicultural Center, the Pride Center and the Women’s Center,” the university said in a statement.
