Miami discontinues 3 DEI Programs due to S.B. 1

Miami University announced in a university statement earlier Friday that it will discontinue the Center for Student Diversity and Inclusion (CSDI), the Office of Transformational and Inclusive Excellence (OTIE) and the Miami Regionals Center for Student Diversity and Inclusion at the end of June.

This action reflects Miami’s accordance with Senate Bill 1, which Governor Mike DeWine signed on March 28. This bill prohibits diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) programs at public universities in Ohio.

“The university has communicated directly with the employees who are affected by these changes, and all have been offered opportunities in other parts of the university. We will also be communicating with the student organizations that work with these offices in the coming weeks,” according to the university statement.

Seth Bauguess, senior director of communications at Miami, wrote in an email statement to The Miami Student that the university sent an email to CSDI and confirmed that the staff will be moved to the Center for Student Engagement, Activities and Leadership (C-SEAL).

CSDI hosts programs each semester designed to “enhance the academic success, retention and personal development of diverse student populations” according to the CSDI website.

These programs are centered around connecting diverse students on campus, including MADE (Mentoring, Achievement, Diversity and Excellence) at Miami for first-year students.

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Students who frequent CSDI said the office has been welcoming during their time at Miami. Junior zoology and environmental science major Annabelle Jokisch said the CSDI office has become one of her favorite spots on campus.

“I am probably in the CSDI office once a week or more,” Jokisch said. “I like to stop in there. I know a lot of the people who work there. It’s a calming space to be in. I’ll just pop in and do some homework, [and] I meet with my friend there a lot.”

Jokisch said that although the events are centered on diverse groups, everyone is welcome, which helped her realize there was a supportive community for LGBTQ+ students on campus.

“They host a lot of events that are centered around LGBTQ+ [and] POC,” Jokisch said. “The events aren’t like, ‘Oh, you can only show up if you’re gay.’ It’s something for everyone.”

OTIE aims to support the overall Miami community and create a welcoming environment for all students, according to its website. The office led the campus climate survey initiative starting in the fall of 2021. These surveys collect data to “identify and design additional initiatives, programs and actions to continue to reflect our inclusive excellence approach.”

Miami’s decision to remove these offices follows the trend with other universities who discontinued similar offices in light of S.B. 1. The Ohio State University closed its Office of Diversity and Inclusion and its Center for Belonging and Social Change on Feb. 27, according to The Lantern.

Junior art education major Isa Obradovich knew Miami would follow soon after, but she said she’s disappointed with the university’s lack of pushback.

“I think going down without a fight is cowardly,” Obradovich said. “As much respect as I have and as much as I love the community that I found here … I think as an institution, it is cowardly for the university to fold like this. I think more need to follow the example of Harvard publicly refusing to uphold whatever the federal government wants them to do.”

CSDI refrained from commenting, but said they will send out a formal statement about the situation.

According to the university statement, more information about specific changes will be shared with impacted divisions later this semester as plans are finalized.

@kethanbabu_04

babukc2@miamioh.edu