The Massachusetts Institute of Technology has announced it will shut down its DEI office, joining a raft of universities scrambling to scale back their diversity, equity, and inclusion programs amid President Donald Trump’s anti-diversity push.
In a letter on its website last Thursday, MIT President Sally Kornbluth said the institution will “sunset” its Institute Community and Equity Office (ICEO), as well as a vice-president role charged with overseeing inclusion programs.
Kornbluth insisted MIT is not abandoning efforts to ensure a diverse community but said the university will “shift focus to community building at the local level” and that the ICEO’s signature programs will be taken up by other departments on campus.
“MIT is in the talent business. Our success depends on attracting exceptionally talented people of every background, from across the country and around the world, and making sure everyone at MIT feels welcome and supported,” Kornbluth wrote.
The decision to close the DEI office follows a months-long review of the university’s diversity programs. The assessment was led by Karl Reid, the last Vice-President for Equity and Inclusion, who stepped down in February after barely one year in the job.
Kornbluth’s letter did not mention the exact date when the changes were meant to take place. CNN has reached out to MIT for comments.
Word of MIT’s announcement comes as the tech school’s neighbor, Harvard University, faces a consequential court hearing Thursday that may determine whether international students can attend the university or continue their studies there.
The administration revoked Harvard’s certification to host international students a week ago, but a federal judge temporarily halted the move after Harvard sued the next day.
Thursday’s hearing will take place just six miles from campus, where Harvard will be holding its 2025 commencement ceremony for new graduates. MIT’s undergraduate commencement is scheduled for the next day.
Harvard appears to have also felt the pressure of Trump’s anti-diversity program push. Last month, the Ivy League school renamed its Office for Equity, Diversity, Inclusion, and Belonging to the Community and Campus Life office.
In recent weeks, universities across the country have been scrambling to comply with Trump’s anti-DEI push in the hopes of holding on to hundreds of millions of dollars in federal grants, which fund critical medical research in areas such as cancer and maternal health, among an array of scientific fields.
Last month, the Trump administration threatened to cancel medical research funds and to pull the accreditation of universities that have diversity and inclusion programs or boycott Israeli companies.
Just hours into his second term, Trump signed an Executive Order declaring diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts discriminatory, doubling down on one of the controversial policies he pushed during his first presidency.
MIT is among 45 universities targeted in an investigation launched in March by the Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights for “allegedly engaging in race-exclusionary practices in their graduate programs.”
MIT’s decision to shutter its DEI office comes as the White House escalates its fight. This week, the Trump administration moved to cancel all of Harvard’s remaining federal contracts, which total around $100 million, in addition to several billion in grants already canceled or frozen.
The university is also locking legal horns with the government in a bid to unlock $2.2 billion in federal grants frozen by the administration for failing to implement its policy demands.
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