NORFOLK, Va. — The President of the University of Virginia, Jim Ryan is defending "Diversity, Equity and Inclusion" (DEI).
The term has come under fire lately by many conservative lawmakers who say it promotes division.
In an essay in the Chronicle of Higher Education, Ryan called DEI necessary to promote opportunity and access.
He placed critics of DEI in two different categories: those who respect diversity but feel DEI initiatives overreach into ideological conformity and those who want DEI to go away.
"I disagree with those who would like to prohibit DEI efforts altogether," he wrote. "Colleges should continue to promote the core elements of DEI, as these efforts are crucial to ensuring opportunity and access, attracting and retaining the most talented people, creating a vibrant campus culture, and promoting a richer and more robust exchange of ideas."
According to Best Colleges, 30 bills introduced in at least 20 states this year target DEI efforts in higher education.
Virginia is not one of them but Republican Governor Glenn Youngkin has repeatedly expressed his concerns over equity.
"All of a sudden, we should compromise excellence, we should compromise merit in pursuit of the goal of equal outcomes," he said at the recent Milken Institute Global Conference.
Ryan wrote he has no idea where that notion came from but ought to be "rejected out of hand." He continued, "I know of no college that guarantees equal outcomes. A more accurate and appropriate definition of equity is an effort to ensure equal opportunity, not equal results."
Ryan did, however, warn that some mandatory DEI training runs the risk of being coercive, although well-intentioned.