President Donald Trump’s recent executive orders aiming to curtail diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives have sparked concern about the future of DEI programs across higher education institutions in the United States, including at Cornell.
On Jan. 20 and Jan. 21, Trump signed executive orders eliminating DEI programs at federal funded institutions. The orders specifically call for investigations into the DEI programs of universities with endowments exceeding $1 billion — which includes Cornell.
If Cornell fails to comply with these orders, the University could face the loss of substantial federal funding through grants in contracts. In the 2023-2024 academic year, Cornell received $157 million in state and federal funding for research, grants and student scholarships.
According to Cornell’s DEI glossary, DEI initiatives aim to create an inclusive and supportive environment by promoting diversity across various dimensions such as race, gender and socioeconomic background. These initiatives include the Belonging at Cornell framework, mandatory staff training and specialized resources like the Center for Racial Justice and Equitable Futures to support academic diversity and inclusivity.
When asked about their plans to address Trump’s actions regarding DEI, a University spokesperson reiterated a previous statement to The Sun regarding the University’s response to Trump’s executive orders.
“University leadership continues to evaluate how new executive orders affect our community. As more concrete information becomes available, we will provide guidance on how the executive orders and other directives may impact our programs and community members,” the spokesperson wrote.
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However, the University declined to answer questions on how they will navigate the tension between DEI commitments and the risk of losing federal funding and how they plan to support students and faculty who may be impacted by the reduction or elimination of DEI programs.
In response to Trump’s executive orders, many universities — including Northeastern University and Rutgers University — have modified DEI programming.
On Tuesday, Cornell launched a website providing information on Trump’s executive orders and other new federal policies, along with an email address for students to ask questions and share feedback.
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Prof. Randy Wayne, plant science, who has written several anti-DEI articles for The New York Post and The College Fix, called Trump’s executive orders “wise advice.”
Wayne said that Cornell is “radicalizing” students and that DEI initiatives prioritize certain issues while silencing others, thereby limiting the scope of discussion.
“You’re not becoming wise at Cornell. You’re really becoming stupid. We’re educating people into imbecility,” Wayne said.
However, Niles Hite ’26, vice president of finance for the Student Assembly and president of Cornell Democrats, argued that DEI programs are vital to the intellectual growth of students.
“All the people here at this university come from different backgrounds and different places. It’s not just about skin color, … but it’s about differences in income, parents’ jobs, where people live, political affiliations and skills,” Hite said. “That diversity is really important. To take that away in an academic setting, where we’re here to learn, challenge ourselves and think outside the box, is a big mistake.”
Adam Vinson ’25, executive vice president of the Student Assembly, said that he hopes Cornell will stand firm in the face of these changes.
“I do hope that we at Cornell have a stronger backbone than the other universities that are cutting programs and just giving up,” Vinson said.
Hite said he wants to see the University take further action, starting with a formal statement that condemns the Trump administration from Interim President Michael Kotlikoff, since he believes the Trump administration is undoing values Cornell claims to uphold.
Vinson echoed this belief, emphasizing the importance of fighting against Trump’s executive orders.
“It’s just four years — I think we can push back against this, and if there’s no pushback, then they just succeed,” Vinson said. “What we do at Cornell, even on a small scale, has a national impact. If we want a better world — whether for environmental issues or DEI initiatives — we have to push back.”
Emma Galgano ’27 is a Sun contributor can be reached at [email protected].