BLACKSBURG, Va. (WDBJ) – Virginia Tech is doing away with some its Diversity, Equity and Inclusion efforts.
It comes after an order from President Trump to remove the programs from schools across the country.
Virginia Tech says it highly values diversity, but also faces the reality of complying with the President’s order, and those two things collided at Tuesday’s Board of Visitor’s meeting.
Tuesday afternoon, the Virginia Tech Board of Visitors did away with several of the school’s diversity initiatives.
The Board’s vote approved a resolution to dissolve Tech’s “Office for Inclusive Strategy and Excellence.”
The decision prompted a massive protest, with hundreds of people shouting and marching across campus.
University Spokesperson, Mark Owczarski, says complying with new laws doesn’t mean Virginia Tech will stop creating an environment where all students and staff feel welcome.
“We talk about tis is home. Home is welcoming. Home is where you belong, and we want our students, our alumni, our faculty and staff, to feel the same way. That commitment, those principles and values will never change. They were created when we started 152 years ago.”
Virginia Tech joins schools across the country complying with the president’s order to cut back on DEI.
Radford University, The University of Virginia, Virginia Commonwealth University and the Commonwealth’s community college system have all passed similar resolutions.
Owczarski says Virginia Tech will conduct a review of all programs and efforts to ensure compliance with federal law, but are still working out the details.
“What that will look like structurally, we will work out that detail, but what it won’t do is change the way that we perceive our community and wanting to create a welcoming and inviting environment for everybody who comes to Virginia Tech seeking a degree or to pursue their scholarly research,” said Owczarski.
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