Among our New Year’s resolutions, let’s not forget to resolve to protect important words. That’s not a trivial matter. George Orwell warned us 75 years ago in his description of Newspeak in 1984 about the danger of “the elimination of certain words.”
In 2025, diversity, equity, inclusion, three good words, are under attack. Let’s look at the dictionary definitions:
- Diversity: the practice or quality of including or involving people from a range of different social and ethnic backgrounds and of different genders, sexual orientations, etc.
- Equity: the quality of being fair and impartial
- Inclusion: the practice or policy of providing equal access to opportunities and resources for people who might otherwise be excluded or marginalized
More particularly, the acronym DEI has been assaulted by elected officials, community leaders, and podcasts. Orwell also underlines the danger of “excessive use of abbreviations and acronyms” as a part of political language.
My New Year’s resolution is to stop using DEI, but at the same time to affirm the critical importance embodied in the words diversity, equity and inclusion.
Dangerous attacks on diversity, equity and inclusion
In addition to passing anti-DEI legislation in Republican-leaning states, conservative critics have attacked diversity, equity and inclusion through threats to accrediting agencies. Earlier this winter, the Western Association of Schools and Colleges’ Senior College and University Commission (WSCUC) announced that they were considering a change to its accreditation standards and replacing “DEI” with “success for all students.” It might have made more sense to announce that WSCUC would stop using the DEI abbreviation while affirming diversity, equity, and inclusion in all its standards. After substantial pushback from university members and outside organizations WSCUC decided against “removing diversity, equity and inclusion language from its standards.”
Universities in the Western states protested this major change influenced by political pressure because diversity, equity, and inclusion are deeply ingrained in their mission and values and in those of most universities across the nation.
Let’s look, for example, at statements of mission and values at the University of Pennsylvania and Temple University:
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- Penn’s mission, updated April 13, 2024, affirms the university’s goal “to strengthen the quality of education, and to produce innovative research and models of healthcare delivery by fostering a vibrant inclusive environment and fully embracing diversity.” (Italics are mine.)
- Temple’s mission reads as follows, “We open our doors to a diverse community of learners and scholars who strive to make the possible real.” (My italics.) Diversity and inclusivity are also listed among Temple’s 10 Core Values.
Not only that, diversity, equity and inclusion continue to be crucial to American business success, too, as Joelle Emerson, a major corporate consultant, wrote last month in the Harvard Business Review’s “Continuing the Work of DEI, No Matter What Your Company Calls It”:
Reading the headlines, some might believe we’re witnessing the end of corporate DEI in the U.S. But this assumption is shortsighted and overly simplistic. While the acronym “DEI” is increasingly unpopular and its future seems ever less certain, we’ve found that companies across industries are still looking for ways to build healthy, inclusive workplace cultures where everyone can do their best work.
Universities’ continuing commitment to diversity, equity, inclusion will not only reflect a sustained commitment to core values, it will also prepare students for an economy that depends on these principles.
Resolve to stop saying “DEI.” Shout out “Diversity, Equity, Inclusion.”
Philadelphia-area colleges and universities should put affirmations of diversity, equity, inclusion at the top of their resolutions for 2025. But those words cannot be abstractions. Another American author is helpful on this point.
In Chapter XXVII of Ernest Hemingway’s A Farewell to Arms, the main character Lt. Henry confesses to being embarrassed by abstract words like “sacred,” “glorious,” and “sacrifice.” He affirms that only concrete nouns such as the names of places have “dignity.” In our context, we have to make diversity, equity, inclusion real through actions.
Higher education faces deeply worrying circumstances as the New Year dawns. We cannot be distracted by attacks on acronyms. Forget DEI, but affirm diversity, equity, and inclusion …
As I’ve written previously, prestigious, well-resourced universities like Penn must expand their recruiting map, travelling to public schools that recruiters have not previously visited. Penn and Temple have taken important steps forward by removing financial barriers from working-class and middle-class students. But Penn and Temple, in cooperation with the full range of Philadelphia-area colleges and universities, must make consortial efforts to reach out early to Philadelphia middle and high school students who may not understand that college can be for them. Extensive, no-cost school-year and summer seminars can engage neighborhood students in the excitement of research and learning, preparing them for college admission and more varied life choices.
We also know a great deal about what contributes to success once students are enrolled in college. According to a December report from the Brookings Institute, colleges should provide the following interventions for all students:
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- Comprehensive programs, providing coaching, case management, financial support, academic assistance, and learning communities.
- Advisers and navigators, who work with high school students and continue through college matriculation. Peer advisers and professional counselors can guide students to persist and achieve.
- Low-touch interventions, including text messaging and virtual coaching. Research shows that this automated help productively supplements the high-touch communication recommended above.
There is no doubt that higher education faces deeply worrying circumstances as the New Year dawns. We cannot be distracted by attacks on acronyms. Forget DEI, but affirm diversity, equity, and inclusion, and make them real through adopting innovative methods. By doing so, as another American author, William Faulkner reminds us, we will not only survive, we will prevail — and our students will prevail.
Elaine Maimon, Ph.D., is an Advisor at the American Council on Education. She is the author of Leading Academic Change: Vision, Strategy, Transformation. Her long career in higher education has encompassed top executive positions at public universities as well as distinction as a scholar in rhetoric/composition. Her co-authored book, Writing In The Arts and Sciences, has been designated as a landmark text. She is a Distinguished Fellow of the Association for Writing Across the Curriculum.
