The University of Mississippi’s plan to replace an administrative division dedicated to diversity, equity and inclusion with one focused on access won approval by its governing board last week.
The formal OK from the Institutions of Higher Learning Board of Trustees came two months after Chancellor Glenn Boyce announced the Division of Access, Opportunity and Community Engagement in a campus-wide email.
Boyce wrote the goal was to redouble the university’s efforts to help more students attend and graduate college amid the looming enrollment cliff facing Mississippi’s institutions of higher learning.
“We are steadfast in our commitment to the transformative power of higher education, and now is the time to prioritize our efforts to broaden access to higher education,” he wrote on Aug. 16.
The new division takes the place of the university’s Division of Diversity and Community Engagement. It will cost $1.5 million to implement and bring together four different campus offices that focus on community engagement, inclusion and cross-cultural engagement, disability services, and equal opportunity and regulatory compliance, according to the IHL board book.
A university spokesperson said Ole Miss did not have an additional comment on the changes beyond Boyce’s August statement.
In the last year, most universities in Mississippi have made similar changes to their diversity offices, even though state lawmakers have yet to pass a ban on state spending on diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives.
Unlike its counterparts, Ole Miss ran its changes through IHL, which oversees all eight of the state’s public universities. The University of Southern Mississippi renamed its diversity office the “Office of Community and Belonging.” Last November, Mississippi State University opened its new Division of Access, Opportunity and Success.
In higher education, DEI traditionally refers to a range of administrative efforts to comply with civil rights laws and foster a sense of on-campus belonging among those populations.
During the IHL meeting, Casey Prestwood, the associate commissioner for academic and student affairs, read a description of the new division. Earlier in the meeting, the IHL board had approved the diversity division’s closure when it voted on the consent agenda.
“UM’s goal is to better align resources to prioritize student persistence, success, and graduation,” Prestwood read. “To achieve this, UM needs to enhance its focus on expanding access to higher education, particularly for students facing limited resources, minimal family experience with higher education, and other barriers.”
The board approved the change without discussion.
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