The Board of Regents approved changes to its bylaws and policies to eliminate language relating to affirmative action and diversity, equity and inclusion at its April 11 meeting. The changes faced opposition from both board members and the public.
The changes responded to executive orders from President Donald Trump and a “dear colleague” letter from the Department of Education advising colleges and universities to bring their bylaws and policies in line with administration policies opposing DEI within 90 days.
One amendment changed a bylaw on equal opportunity for employees (Bylaw 3.0). The amendment eliminated the word “affirmative” before the word “action” and the final sentence of the section which said, “The University will strive to achieve realistic affirmative action employment goals.” Another change amended board policies on employment, student admissions, tuition levels and tuition remission for nonresident students.
On Bylaw 3.0, Regent Elizabeth O’Connor of Omaha opposed the change. Trump’s executive and the dear-colleague letter failed to define what was meant by “DEI,” she said. The policies under that rubric affect women, people with disabilities and many others. Moreover, studies show that students learn better when they have a diverse body of peers, she said. The change, O’Connor warned, is likely to harm the University of Nebraska and reversing that harm will be difficult.
Regent Jim Scheer of Norfolk said although the change might cause damage, he was more concerned about the damage that might result from not amending the bylaws. The Department of Education might withhold Pell Grant money from UNL students, he said, and the harm that would cause outweighs any harm from amending the bylaws.
Student Regents Elizabeth Herbin of UNL, Pranita Devaraju of UNMC and Ishani Adidam of UNO joined O’Connor in condemning the proposed change.
In spite of the opposition, the measure passed on a 6-2 vote with Regent Barbara Weitz of Omaha joining O’Connor in opposition. Student Regents Herbin, Devaraju and Adidam also voted no, although their votes are not official. Student Regent Sam Schroeder of UNK abstained.
The revisions to the board policies affected four sections. The change to Regents Policy 3.1.3 largely eliminated the existing section on equal opportunity and affirmative action guidelines and replaced it with a briefer statement saying the university is committed to equal opportunity in recruiting, hiring and promotion employees without regard to race, religion, gender, sexual identity and several other criteria. The revised policy says the university shall periodically review its employment practices, provide grievance procedures and disseminate guidance to all NU units.
Regents Policy 5.2.4 deals with the admission of students on the basis of special merit. The major change is the elimination of consideration for students coming from high schools that historically have sent few students to colleges or universities and for students who have experience working with people of diverse backgrounds.
The amendment to Policy 5.7.4, which sets guidelines for tuition levels, replaces the old language in paragraph 8 with “Tuition levels should also take into account the need for access to under-represented groups including those identified in RP 5.2.1 eligible for special merit consideration to enhance the mission of the University.” Language relating to underrepresented racial and ethnic groups and enhancing cultural diversity is eliminated.
The amendment to Policy 5.8.4 on tuition remission for nonresidents changes the first paragraph to eliminate language about enhancing cultural diversity and replaces it with language about broadening the reach of the university and enhancing the state workforce.
The regents considered all four policy changes together. Regent Kathy Wilmot of Beaver City offered an amendment that the university provide mandatory annual training for employees on implementing the changes to Policy 3.1.3. President Jeffrey Gold said he will be working with NU’s legal team to develop such training and guidance.
Regent Tim Clare of Lincoln said the idea behind Wilmot’s amendment was laudable, but it had not been vetted by all who might have something to say about it. Regent Scheer then moved to table the amendment and consideration of the policy revisions until the regents’ next meeting, which will be June 19. NU General Counsel Bren Chambers said June 19 would be past the 90-day deadline specified by the Department of Education.
The motion to table failed on a 3-5 vote, with only Weitz, Wilmot and Scheer voting for it. The changes to the policies were approved by a 5-3 vote but the opponents were O’Connor, Weitz and Wilmot. All four student regents also opposed the policy changes.
Earlier in the meeting, four people spoke during the public comment period in opposition to the bylaw and policy changes. Two of the four were UNL professors Stephanie Bondi and Crystal Garcia, both from the education administration department.
Bondi warned that the abandonment of DEI will cause student success to decline and harassment of women and minorities to increase. Nebraska is a diverse state, she said, and research shows eliminating efforts to increase diversity will have adverse effects.
Garcia asked whether being less inclusive would make the university more attractive to an increasingly diverse population of prospective students. Compliance with the dear-colleague letter, she said, will not guarantee saving NU from punishment by the Trump administration. “Now is the time to be brave,” she said. “Now is the time to join with every other college and university to take a stand for the future of higher education.”
Also speaking against the bylaw and policy changes were Zachary Bursch, a UNL sophomore studying secondary education, and Eli Caldaron Palacios, who is a UNO student this year who will transfer to UNL next year.
During his remarks, President Gold announced that an application had been sent to and accepted by the Higher Learning Commission to seek combined accreditation for UNL and UNMC. Treating the two as one would bring UNL in line with how other Big Ten schools are organized and help advance the effort to have UNL restored to the Association of American Universities. Gold said the next step will be a site visit by HLC officials and then consideration of the application by the HLC board. Those will occur this summer and fall respectively, he said.
In other business, the regents:
- Approved the creation of the Nebraska Children’s Justice and Legal Advocacy Center within the UNL College of Law.
- Approved the establishment of an undergraduate certificate in irrigation and agricultural water management administered by the UNL department of biological systems engineering. The program is expected to appeal to non-degree-seeking students and mid-career professionals.
- Agreed to eliminate the bachelor of arts degree in geology at UNL. Most students pursue the bachelor of science degree in geology.
- Adopted amendments to the bargaining agreements with University of Nebraska at Kearney Education Association and the UNO AAUP providing for faculty pay raises in each of the next two years. The UNK faculty will have a 4 percent increase in the aggregate base salary for 2025-26 and a 3 percent increase for the following year. The UNO faculty will receive a 4.9 percent increase in the aggregate base salary for 2025-26 and a 4.8 percent increase in 2026-27.
- Approved naming the volleyball arena in the Bob Devaney Sports Center the John Cook Arena in honor of the coach who retired earlier this year.
- Adopted resolutions honoring Jack Hoffman, whose battle with pediatric brain cancer inspired the creation of Team Jack, and Greg Sharpe, who was the play-by-play announcer for Husker football and baseball since 2008. Both Hoffman and Sharpe died earlier this year.
