Officials upheld GW’s commitment to diversity, equity and inclusion in “every dimension” as the University navigates a changing federal legal landscape in a message to community members Thursday.
Interim Provost John Lach and Associate Vice Provost for Diversity, Equity and Community Engagement Jordan Shelby West in an email said they “emphatically” reaffirm GW’s dedication to advancing DEI, while also acknowledging community concerns that the University may be withdrawing from DEI initiatives amid federal policy changes. Lach and West confirmed GW is not retreating from diversity and that officials revised the language of the University’s online diversity statement to include a specific commitment to non-discrimination as part of a review of all University websites and policies to ensure they comply with federal law while still adhering to the University’s values.
“This feels especially important at a time when there are concerns about higher education’s retreat from these values, with many in our own community wondering if GW was doing the same,” Lach and West wrote in the statement. “We are not.”
Students have warned in recent months that officials have rolled back DEI initiatives, including postponing and renaming the annual Diversity Summit, halting the search for the Office of Diversity, Equity and Community Engagement’s top post and some schools scrubbing mentions of DEI on their respective websites. Students said in November officials’ apparent retreat signals a lack of support for GW’s diverse student body, conceding to President Donald Trump’s administration instead of committing to DEI.
Trump over the last year has challenged DEI policies and practices nationwide, including signing an executive order on his second day in office calling for the end of DEI practices at, among other places, universities that receive federal funding, and threatening to revoke funding from universities over their DEI practices. The Justice Department in January launched a Title VI compliance review of DEI in GW’s admissions practices and “related matters,” which officials said they will cooperate with and demonstrate that their admissions practices comply with federal civil rights law.
Lach and West’s statement — which they said University President Ellen Granberg and other officials endorsed — marks the first time officials have sent a University-wide message publicly addressing community members’ concerns about GW yielding to federal pressure surrounding diversity and explicitly using DEI language to assert their commitment to inclusivity since Trump began his second term last January.
Granberg in October sent a community-wide message stating the University’s commitment to making campus “fully inclusive” to all students, and said officials would share updates with the community on their review of University policies to ensure they comply with federal anti-discrimination law at the process continues. The message did not explicitly mention DEI.
Lach and West said the community has to recognize the changed legal landscape regarding diversity programs in education, pointing to the Supreme Court’s 2023 decision that struck down the consideration of race in college admissions, and federal law that makes it illegal to consider race or protected characteristics in hiring or employment actions in university programs and activities.
Lach and West said officials were inspired in their message by the OneGW Community Summit last week, which had a consistent theme to “do the next right thing.” They said officials’ next “right thing” was to make a formal announcement doubling down on the University’s commitment to DEI.
Officials twice postponed its Diversity Summit before changing its name in February to the OneGW Community Summit, a decision they said reflects their efforts to “reimagine” opportunities for the community and broaden the agenda to include topics, like civil discourse and what it means to be part of the GW community. West told The Hatchet last week the summit’s rebranding was unrelated to Trump’s diversity crackdown, instead attributing the changes to GW’s strategic framework launched in October.
Lach and West’s statement does not mention Trump nor the DOJ’s two existing probes into GW, including an investigation that found that GW violated federal civil rights law by failing to combat antisemitism and a review of GW’s admission’s practices in relation to DEI.
“As discussed throughout the OneGW Summit, we must ensure individuals and groups with different perspectives, backgrounds and experiences are respected and included, amplifying the importance of civil discourse, constructive dialogue and actions that enable our differences to strengthen us, not divide us,” Lach and West said.
Web archives show the University’s previous diversity statement displayed six principles guiding officials’ conduct and decision-making — including students, faculty and staff workforce, board and council members, community partners, teaching and research and inclusion — until at least Nov. 17, the latest archive data available for the website. Lach and West announced officials updated the site, which now includes four principles: admissions and hiring, teaching and research, community, resources and opportunities.
The updated site reaffirms GW’s commitment to following the law and using merit in its admissions and hiring practices, which differs from the site’s previous language of the University’s commitment to admitting and enrolling students and hiring faculty, staff and administration from “varying backgrounds and identities.” The site now specifies GW “endeavors” to recruit students, faculty and staff of the “highest caliber” that have thrived in different environments and bring different perspectives, backgrounds and experiences.
Officials also deleted a page from ODECE’s website called “Diversity and Inclusion Defined” sometime after Oct. 7, 2025, which outlined GW’s definitions for diversity and inclusion, though Lach and West did not mention its deletion in their statement.
The Hatchet reported in February the Elliott School of International Affairs quietly took down the webpage for its annual diversity action plan, renamed a scholarship for underrepresented students and edited student testimonials to remove references to diversity and equity. GW Law also shut down its DEI website sometime after December 2024 and before March 3, according to web archives.
Lach and West said GW is still committed to following the law, and officials are working with its legal counsel to review its policies, programs, procedures and documentations to ensure their actions are legal while still aligning with the University’s values. They added that they are “carefully reviewing” program descriptions and website language to ensure they are “not misconstrued.”
Officials announced in August they were assessing and working to understand the impact of a DOJ memo that issued guidance on DEI programs to institutions who receive federal funding to understand how it may affect GW’s current approach to abiding by federal anti-discrimination laws.
Lach and West said the provost and general counsel’s office will communicate with “appropriate teams” and website managers directly if they decide officials need to make changes to University websites.
“In the limited cases where we have already made revisions, they were implemented discerningly,” they said in the message.
Lach and West outlined six actions officials are taking to reaffirm their commitment to DEI, including expanding access for all students, investing in programs, resources and centers and supporting faculty diversity in backgrounds, viewpoints and experiences. They also said they officials are supporting curriculum and scholarship that address pressing societal challenges, building inclusive university environments where dialogue, belonging and civil discourse are prioritized and necessary and partnering with individuals and groups in the metropolitan area to promote collaboration, discourse and opportunities for growth.
Lach and West said GW’s mission is rooted in the understanding that universities must prepare its students to engage thoughtfully with others despite differences. They said DEI values are “foundational principles” that shape how community members teach, learn, conduct research and serve society.
Officials’ work to advance its commitment to DEI is “far from complete,” Lach and West said, adding that officials will share updates later this semester, including about ODECE, though they did not specify about what specifically. They said officials are committed to assessing GW’s DEI progress through “transparent use of data,” listening to and implementing feedback from community members and changing strategies to meet evolving needs.
“Diversity, equity, and inclusion are not abstract ideals for our community — they are foundational principles that shape how we teach, learn, conduct research, and serve society,” Lach and West said.
