President outlines UW’s “approach to compliance” with new DEI law
“Inquiry, not advocacy, is the standard” for university instruction, Seidel writes in a campuswide email Thursday. He notes UW is already “largely in compliance” with HB147.
University of Wyoming leadership told the campus community Thursday the institution plans to comply with a new state law cracking down on diversity-oriented programs and on course material about “institutional discrimination.”
UW President Ed Seidel said the university is already “largely in compliance” thanks to the campaign it’s undertaken in the last 12 months to root out activities and programs that might concern lawmakers.
“I reiterate that we will work to make sure our students receive instruction in which inquiry, not advocacy, is the standard,” Seidel writes. “You should expect to hear more about such efforts before and after the new law takes effect.”
Gov. Mark Gordon signed House Bill 147 into law Tuesday, vetoing a separate DEI bill covering some of the same ground.
The new law prohibits the University of Wyoming — alongside schools, community colleges and all other government entities — from “engaging” in any activity matching the legislation’s own definition of diversity, equity and inclusion.
It also bans UW from offering courses that “promote” the concept of institutional discrimination. Seidel notes UW is “looking closely” at the letter of the law outlining this prohibition.
“Our initial interpretation is that this does not prevent classroom discussion about divisive issues involving race, religion, sex, ethnicity or national origin; rather, it disallows advocacy on those topics by instructors,” the president writes. “And encouraging inquiry instead of advocacy in the classroom is one of UW’s core principles, something we will emphasize before and after the new law goes into effect.”
He continues:
“We will continue to reinforce that dialogue, inquiry, fortitude and critique by both faculty and students are critical to the classroom, while advocacy, hostility, censorship and cancel culture are not.”
Last year, lawmakers included a footnote to the university’s budget, forbidding the institution from using state funds on its Office of DEI.
While the footnote did not require UW to outright close the office, that’s exactly what the university did.
It also launched an institution-wide review to root out requirements, offerings and programs that lawmakers might label “DEI.” UW President Ed Seidel said at the time the review would evaluate the university’s DEI-adjacent functions to “ensure that they promote merit and do not promote preferential treatment.”
In addition to dismantling its Office of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion, UW announced the cancellation of some diversity-oriented activities and reworked its Multicultural Affairs office.
“We took that course in response to a clear message from legislators against DEI programs and activities, which came in spite of our argument that UW’s DEI efforts had focused only on achieving the objective of being a supportive community of openness, tolerance and respect,” Seidel writes in the Thursday email.
These efforts failed to appease lawmakers.
“[T]he university chose to reorganize and rename programs without addressing the legislative intent, which was to defund DEI entirely,” alleged Sen. Cheri Steinmetz (SD-3) in a guest column published by Cowboy State Daily at the outset of this year’s session. “It became clear that broader, more decisive action was needed.”
Two such bills were filed this year:
House Bill 147, sponsored by Cody Rep. Rachel Rodriguez-Williams (HD-50), which was signed into law by the governor Tuesday.
Senate File 103, sponsored by Steinmetz, which was passed by the legislature but vetoed by the governor.
Gordon vetoed SF103 in part because of the “circular definition” it gave for the course curriculum it sought to ban. The bill, which passed with overwhelming majorities in both chambers, prohibits “related content,” defining that term by reference to a portion of state statute that includes no definition.
Seidel writes UW is “grateful” for the veto. SF103 was more expansive than HB147 and would have forbidden UW from using even private donations on diversity-oriented activities like the Wyoming Latina Youth Conference or Black History Month events.
“Legislation that delves into UW’s curriculum is a relatively new development and is something we’re taking very seriously,” Seidel writes. “But it’s worth noting that Wyoming isn’t the only state where the push against DEI has reached into curricular matters. Laws and legislation in some of those states are considerably more restrictive and punitive.”
Wyoming’s new law takes effect July 1.
I don't get it. Is the legislature, BoT or the UW administration going to put observers in class rooms to catch instructors not following the DEI prohibitions? Or will they rely on offended students to turn in instructors. This is a load of horse manure.
Are these laws not a violation of the first amendment? It’s disheartening to see the university capitulate so quickly and offer no resistance whatsoever. But for us brown folk, I suppose we always knew it was smoke and mirrors anyway. I do hope the ACLU takes up this question and the judiciary responds accordingly.