Colleges and universities in the United States are quickly abandoning their commitment to diversity, equity and inclusion. In this episode, David Hunt discusses this U-turn on DEI with Renee Wells, assistant vice president for diversity, equity and inclusion at Queens University of Charlotte.

Wells formerly worked at North Carolina State University, where she worked to blunt the impact of the state’s anti-transgender “bathroom bill” that required public facilities to restrict the access of trans individuals. She developed a Queer Youth Leadership Summit for local LGBTQ high school students, created educational programs on social justice for faculty and staff, trained students to advocate for social change and launched a gender pronouns awareness campaign.

Wells believes the community-building work of DEI is foundational to higher education and will continue, regardless of the language used to describe it. It's likely that many institutions will come to regret their moves to defund and de-emphasize programs that strive to create a welcoming campus environment for everyone.

Time will tell.

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David Hunt is an Emmy-winning journalist and documentary producer who has reported on America's culture wars since the 1970s. Explore his blog, Tell Me, David.