UW trustees hear public comment on DEI report ahead of Seidel's final decision

May 9—CHEYENNE — How the University of Wyoming moves forward with its Office of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion and related services will be announced Friday.

UW Board of Trustees Chairman Kermit Brown said on Thursday there were certain aspects of the decision involving personnel matters that could not be discussed in public. UW President Ed Seidel will announce his final decision after trustees come out of executive session Friday, Brown said.

Stakeholders had a final chance to comment on a report that came out last month from a Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) working group during the UW trustees meeting Thursday.

Seidel formed the group in late March after the Wyoming Legislature added a footnote in the 2025-26 biennium state budget that defunded the university's DEI Office and all DEI-related programs and activities.

Gov. Mark Gordon vetoed the second half of that language regarding DEI programs, citing concerns it would cost the university millions of dollars in federal research grants. However, language defunding the DEI Office was kept intact.

Lawmakers also cut $1.7 million from the university's block grant funding, a calculated amount that would have gone toward funding UW's DEI Office. Seidel said this cut in funding "put pressure on the university" to adhere to the Legislature's intent.

"You can say what you think about how much of the state is represented in this, but, the point is, there is a signal there," Seidel said. "And the state does provide the bulk of the funding for the university."

This objective was repeated in the working group's report, which included its own definition of DEI, since Wyoming lawmakers failed to provide one.

This definition, Seidel said, reflected what was believed to be the intent of the Legislature.

After reviewing much of the Legislature's dialogue during the 2024 budget session, DEI was defined as "advocating, promoting or funding an activity that advantages or disadvantages a group based on various qualities of race, color, sex, national origin, gender identity, and so on," Seidel said. A second part of that definition "promotes the position that the action of such a group is inherently unconsciously or implicitly biased."

A number of exceptions were made to this definition, such as student-led organizations, nondiscrimination training, private scholarships not funded by the university, academic freedom and constitutionally protected speech or actions.

Trustee John McKinley cautioned Seidel and fellow trustees against focusing on the Legislature's intent.

"As I've gotten more gray hair, I've realized it is extremely difficult, if not impossible, to get inside the head of somebody else," McKinley said. "It's virtually impossible."

The only "legislative intent," he said, is the footnote lawmakers added to the budget. Since this was not a bill debated on the floor, there is no "legislative history" to act as a guide for what lawmakers truly meant by it.

Trying to figure out the intent of the Legislature creates the same problem of varying definitions of DEI, McKinley added.

'This is not a hit list'

In his walkthrough of the DEI working group's report, Seidel clarified that the list of services, programs and areas recommended for review was not a "hit list."

"It is a list of things to inform what is happening on campus, and help us understand what we must continue to do," Seidel said. "But it is in no way a hit list."

The report suggested several university practices that needed further review. One of these is the selection of candidate pools based on protected class; Seidel said this area would likely need the most discussion due to lack of clarity.

Seidel said he once turned away a candidate pool proposed by a search committee because it didn't have any female candidates. The university president said he instructed the committee to "go back and work harder for good candidates."

Trustee David True said this appeared to be the very type of preferential treatment the university was trying to avoid. He was troubled that Seidel rejected the original candidate pool for lack of female candidates.

"The reason you forced them to go back was because there was no woman," True said. "That, in my opinion, based on the new definition in this work paper, would be prohibited."

Seidel argued the quality of the candidate pool was higher the second time around. Chairman Brown said he acknowledged the "dilemma" of the situation, but understood what Seidel's intent was.

"If you get an applicant pool that has no women, when it's common knowledge that there are women that are merit-based qualified, then something's going on," Brown said.

State Superintendent of Public Instruction Megan Degenfelder said Wyomingites are concerned DEI programs promote preferential treatment of certain ideological groups. Eliminating DEI does not mean an elimination of diversity, she added.

"This notion of one race (or) gender being inherently racist over another — that's what we're talking about here," Degenfelder said. "That's what people across the state are very angry about."

Brown told Degenfelder that the vast majority of programs and services at the university "are not preferential treatment."

"That is not what our Office of DEI does," Brown said, adding it's important the rest of the state becomes aware of how the office serves its minority students.

Arguments against DEI

Those who testified against DEI programs and services said these resources promoted the preferential treatment of one ideological group over another. Natrona County resident Mary Schmidt said the DEI Office and UW School of Culture, Gender, and Social Justice have created the meaning of diversity through a "very narrow focus" lens.

"The true intent of this department is to facilitate a societal shift in the communities of Wyoming through the promotion of gender chaos," Schmidt said. "You are obligated to provide an academic education, not a societal education."

Natrona County Board of Trustees member Jenifer Hopkins, who clarified she did not speak for the full board, said she was also against the DEI strategic plan, which she said favors one group over another.

"When there is one group ideology that speaks the loudest, it puts other beliefs aside, creating a losing group," Hopkins said. "Diversity simply means replacing some members with others with different characteristics."

Arguments in favor

Nearly all who testified in favor of DEI programs on Thursday were UW students, alumni and faculty. Some identified as queer and/or a member of a racial minority group, while others were professors or Ph.D students involved in academics related to multicultural affairs.

Many offered stories about how these resources contributed to their success as a student.

UW student Paula Medina said this issue is not about promoting an agenda, but rather about securing programs and services that help students of diverse racial, gender and sexually oriented backgrounds feel welcome.

"This is about students having a place on campus," Medina said. "We will remember the actions that you take today. If you don't take action, we will remember that, too."

UW Director of Native American and Indigenous Studies Bridget Groat testified that she has faced racism and sexism since arriving at the university. As an assistant professor, Groat said she's taught many non-Native students "who knew very little about people unlike themselves." This was an indicator to her that the state's education system was failing to educate its students beyond the "dominant ethnic group."

"Diversity education in a state that lacks diversity is especially important," Groat said.

When UW graduate Kaleb Pullam told his professor at a Wisconsin community college he had a full-ride scholarship to Wyoming, the professor asked him what sport he played.

"Institutions of higher education have historically not been built for people who look like me. I am a young Black man," said Pullam. "There are not very many young Black men on this campus."

As one of the few Black students at a predominantly white institution, Pullam said he was told to view himself as an "asset" to the university. People with different gender and racial identities are all assets, he added, because they encourage new and diverse ways of thinking.

It is important that the university invests in its student "assets" by investing in programs that support them and help them feel included, he said.

"Investing in ... people who can help to bring the most out of these assets, so that the assets can then pour back into the institution, is vitally important," Pullam said.

Hannah Shields is the Wyoming Tribune Eagle's state government reporter. She can be reached at 307-633-3167 or hshields@wyomingnews.com. You can follow her on X @happyfeet004.