Updated: May 4, 2026, at 11:04 a.m.
GW will rebrand the Office for Diversity, Equity and Community Engagement following a series of measures over the past year to broaden the scope of diversity-focused efforts at the University, officials announced Friday.
Interim Provost John Lach said in a community email the University is dissolving ODECE and creating the Office of Community, Culture and Inclusion, a change he said will “best serve” ODECE’s current programs and the University’s broader commitment to diversity, equity and inclusion. The announcement comes as GW faces a Department of Justice investigation into alleged DEI practices in its admissions and students have warned several recent measures from officials signaled a rollback of commitment to DEI on campus, including officials twice postponing and then renaming its annual diversity summit and halting the search for the University’s top diversity post.
A University spokesperson said officials have “thoughtfully considered” how to best advance their goals for an inclusive community for a while, pointing to University-wide initiatives like the OneGW Summit and officials’ reaffirmation of GW’s commitment to DEI as evidence of their commitment to an inclusive community. They confirmed the DOJ’s investigation into GW’s alleged DEI practices in its admissions played no role in officials’ decision to dissolve ODECE.
A University spokesperson declined to comment on when exactly officials made the decision to dissolve ODECE, what stakeholders officials engaged before making the decision and if the decision to rebrand GW’s annual diversity summit was in response to ODECE’s planned dissolution.
Lach said OCCI will work across all GW schools and divisions and interact with students, faculty, staff and senior leadership to celebrate diversity, strengthen GW’s commitment to non-discrimination and equal opportunity and foster an inclusive and respectful environment.
“I am grateful for the continued support of the community as we make progress in our work to embrace diversity of perspectives, backgrounds and experiences, to advance equity through equal opportunity, and to cultivate inclusion and respect for all, which are critical for GW to continue to pursue its mission with excellence,” Lach said in the email.
Lach said Associate Vice Provost for Diversity, Equity and Community Engagement Jordan Shelby West, who currently heads ODECE, will lead OCCI and assume the title of associate vice provost for community, culture and inclusion. He said University President Ellen Granberg appointed West as senior advisor to the president for inclusive excellence, where she will lead University-wide dialogue fostering a “robust, vibrant and inclusive” campus community while following applicable laws and regulations.
A University spokesperson confirmed the vice provost role — GW’s empty top diversity post — will no longer exist in the wake of officials’ dissolution of ODECE.
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 and threatening to revoke funding from universities over their DEI practices. The DOJ has led investigations into multiple universities’ alleged use of DEI-related practices in admissions, including at GW.
Hundreds of universities nationwide have either axed or renamed their diversity offices in the wake of Trump’s crackdown on DEI practices in higher education.
GW earlier this year renamed its annual Diversity Summit to the OneGW Community Summit after postponing the event twice, though West in an interview with The Hatchet said the rebranding was not due to Trump’s crackdown on DEI, but rather was in alignment with the strategic framework. Officials in October also halted its search for a vice provost to lead ODECE 15 months after the former vice provost’s departure, citing inclusivity goals in the strategic framework and updated federal guidance on DEI.
Students said in November officials’ apparent retreat on diversity signals a lack of support for GW’s diverse student body, conceding to the Trump administration instead of committing to DEI.
Lach and West last month reaffirmed GW’s commitment to DEI in “every dimension,” while also acknowledging community concerns that the University may be withdrawing from DEI initiatives amid federal policy changes. Lach and West in a community message 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.
Lach said the Multicultural Student Services Center, currently housed under ODECE, will be part of OCCI and its director, Vanice Antrum, will continue reporting to West. Assistant Vice Provost and Executive Director of the Honey W. Nashman Center for Civic Engagement and Public Service Amy Cohen will continue to lead the center, another ODECE branch, and will continue to report directly to the provost.
Lach said officials will reassign the Stephen Joel Trachtenberg Scholars Program from ODECE to the Office of Student Success, with the program’s leader, Helen Cannaday Saulny, reporting to Associate Vice Provost for Student Success and Retention Kimberly Williams.
Lach said the decision to create OCCI stemmed from the same conversations that spurred officials to establish the Office of Equal Opportunity, which opened May 1, to streamline the discrimination, harassment and bias complaint process. OEO includes the Title IX Office, parts of the Equal Employment Opportunity and Access office in GW’s Human Resource Management and Development and the Office of Access and Opportunity, and now serves as the comprehensive manager of discrimination, harassment and bias complaints.
Disability Student Services, which ODECE previously housed, will now report to Deputy Provost Terry Murphy.
Student Government Association candidates highlighted in their election campaigns last month Trump’s crackdown on DEI, saying students fear federal scrutiny for speaking out about diversity initiatives and urging officials to champion DEI initiatives in their platforms. SGA President-elect MJ Childs said in his presidential platform he would talk to officials about continuing their search for a permanent vice provost to lead ODECE and creating a coalition of student leaders and GW officials focused on diversity.
This post has been updated to include the following:
This post was updated to include a comment from a University spokesperson.
