Proposed Study of DEI in Higher Education bill doesn’t pass during legislative session

By Alivia Hadfield NEWS STAFF REPORTER

During the most recent Utah legislative session, North Ogden Sen. John Johnson proposed a new bill, SB 283, to study the funding that goes towards diversity, inclusion and equity offices at Utah colleges.

In a call with the Statesman, Johnson said, “This bill is more about finding out how we’re spending that money.”

Johnson said Utah currently spends $12 million on diversity, inclusion and equity offices for higher education.

“$12 million dollars statewide is quite a bit,” Johnson said.

He then gave an example of how much this would cost Utah State University, where he is a professor in the Data Analytics & Information Systems Department.

“We’ve got more than $50 million from the Huntsman Foundation for business school. To generate $12 million in cash every year, we’d have to have $200 million in endowments,” Johnson said. “If you just put it into perspective, you can see how much we’re actually spending.”

Johnson said after their study, his group concluded the money does have some good use, but it could also be better spent on other endeavors.

During the interview, Johnson also mentioned he liked the parts of DEI centers that “allow students to feel safe and have a place to go.”

He called it a “reasonable goal.” He thought that might fall under Student Services rather than its own division. Along with concerns about statewide spending, Johnson and many stakeholders share other concerns about “current DEI bureaucracies that may prioritize promoting particular political or social ideologies over academic rigor and intellectual diversity.”

“If we actually believed in equity, we would give everybody a really great education,” Johnson concluded. The bill was first introduced as Prohibiting Diversity, Equity and Inclusion. This first draft of the bill would have cut all funding towards diversity and inclusion offices and officers for public colleges in Utah.

It has since been changed to the Study of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion in Higher Education after the bill’s first draft received concerns.

USUSA President Clara Alder recently visited the capitol building for Aggie Ice Cream Day with USUSA officers and GRC members. Alder said the first draft of the DEI bill was brought up in conversation with Devin Wiser, USU’s vice president for government and external affairs.

In conversation with Alder, Wiser mentioned he was proactively meeting with Johnson to discuss the bill and the impact it would have.

“I reached out to Devin, and he informed me that the meeting went well. He said that Senator Johnson would withdraw it and that we’ll work with him over the interim to try and address his concerns,” Alder said. Ultimately, the bill did not pass. The legislative session ended on March 3.

USU’s Division of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion was created in 2022. It has three different departments on Logan’s main campus: the Inclusion Center, Latinx Cultural Center and Disability Resource Center.

The Inclusion Center offers a Social Climate Support team that “provides support when an individual has experienced bias, racism, or microaggressions.” It also offers lounges for minorities, such as the Native American Lounge.

The LatinX Cultural Center offers three programs: LASER, USU Latinos in Action Chapter and Project Motivation. It also has computers and a snack bar.

LASER, or Latinx Space for Engagement and Retention, is “a nationally-recognized program that focuses on the scholarship and mentoring of Latinx students.” At USU, it is a three-step mentoring program for students

Latinos in Action’s mission statement is “Empowering Latino youth to lead and strengthen their communities through college and career readiness.” LIA is also a mentoring program for students.

Project Motivation “aims to empower minority students through tutoring and mentoring opportunities. Through the project, we hope to have a positive impact on their rates of graduation and pursuit of higher education.” Project Motivation is also a mentoring program for students.

The Disability Resource Center helps students with disabilities receive accommodations for courses and campus living.