A recent letter from the Department of Education has brought questions about diversity, equity, and inclusion work at educational institutions like Calvin into stark focus.
On February 14, 2025, the Trump administration’s Department of Education issued a letterto educational institutions from the Trump administration’s Department of Education, calling for an end to all diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) work. This letter, known as the “Dear Colleague” letter, argues that DEI programs in pre-K-through-12 and higher education institutions embrace “pervasive and repugnant race-based preferences” and stated that institutions that did not end their programs would risk losing federal funding.
Still, despite recent federal efforts to curb diversity efforts, Calvin University stands firm in its commitment to “fostering diverse, inclusive community and ensuring belonging,” said President Greg Elzinga at a university town hall on Feb. 11.
What is DEI?
Diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) work, according to social work professor Jenny Siegel, includes training and education about racism and implicit bias, as well as programs and services that support minority populations. “We’re talking about decades-old policies that have helped women and minority populations be able to get jobs and to be hired,” says Siegel. According to sophomore Caynon Love, executive vice-president of Calvin’s Black Student Union (BSU), DEI work is crucial because “when efforts aren’t made to intentionally pursue diversity, equity, and inclusion, especially in academic spaces…it won’t be included. It will always be put to the side due to historical prejudices and stereotypes and racism.”
At Calvin, commitments to diversity, equity, and inclusion “are not rooted in a political, social, or cultural movement, but [come] from our theological understanding of the beauty and value of all humanity in the kingdom of God” said Elzinga at the town hall. Similarly, Executive Vice President of Student Life Sarah Visser noted, “working toward a multicultural Kingdom of God is not simply a high-minded ideal; it is a dictate of biblical justice.”
Why are DEI efforts being challenged?
Dismantling DEI work has been a key goal of the Trump presidency, as seen in Executive Order 14173, which states that DEI efforts “violate the text and spirit of our longstanding Federal civil-rights laws.” This executive order called for “all agencies to enforce our longstanding civil-rights laws and to combat illegal private-sector DEI preferences,” and led to many corporate companies eliminating or restructuring their DEI programs.
The Dear Colleague letter specifically aimed this attack towards education. The letter claimed that educational institutions “have toxically indoctrinated students” and are “smuggling racial stereotypes and explicit race-consciousness into everyday training, programming, and discipline.” Colleges and universities have responded to the letter’s threat to remove federal funding in various ways: some scrubbed their websites, some launched internal reviews, and some declared their policies are already race neutral.
According to education professor John Walcott, “the push to eliminate DEI is a part of this backlash against racial progress that we’ve seen in our country, even though we still have a long way to go. It’s an effort to silence folks who want to prioritize those values.”
The attacks on DEI are not just limited to specific programs. “What we’re seeing is, under the guise of DEI,…targeting education about our history as it relates to racism,” observes Siegel. “It’s pretty scary what’s happening.”
“We have got to be able to teach students about the importance of our history in this country and how that impacts so many people still today,” said Siegel.
What does this mean for Calvin?
Calvin is a private university, which means that the Dear Colleague letter “doesn’t impact us quite the same way” as it would a public institution, says Walcott. Calvin does receive federal funding in the form of student financial aid (FAFSA) and grants such as Pell grants. However, Walcott notes that some have said that federal grants and loans might not be at stake in conflicts over DEI as much as other federal funds. Nevertheless, “there’s enough ambiguity in there that institutions like Calvin, in my view, need to be alert and pay attention to what’s going on.” Although it’s doubtful that “somebody’s gonna come to us and say ‘you better take down your websites,’” Walcott notes that Calvin should still be concerned.
Executive orders and federal directives, regardless of their legal weight, produce a “chilling effect” that can have ramifications across our communities, says Walcott. As a teacher educator, Walcott especially pays attention to what’s happening in K-12 schools. “Even if they’re not obligated to, we are seeing districts throughout the country starting to censor their teachers or teachers are self-censoring…and that’s gonna happen in universities as well,” says Walcott. “The worry [is] that, in our courses, there’s some self-silencing or fear of taking some of these issues and addressing them head on for the sake of our students who need to understand but also need to participate in these kinds of discussions.”
Furthermore, even if these federal directives may not directly impact work at Calvin, “it impacts what’s happening in many of our partner institutions around the state and around the country… We need to pay attention to and be willing to speak, even if we feel we have some level of protection from some things that they don’t,” notes Walcott.
In short, says Walcott, Calvin needs to “be ready to affirm [its commitments to diversity, equity, and inclusion] every step of the way.” For BSU vice-president Caynon Love, this looks like clarity on the search for a new Chief Diversity Officer, “continued support” for programs like Rangeela, promotion of the Entrada program and Impact Orientation, and “ensuring that the BIPOC students here have a great experience and giving the resources and funding for whatever they need.”
At the ground level, the work continues. Calvin’s commitments to diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging remain unchanged. Provost Noah Toly said that these commitments “are rooted and grounded in our deepest biblical and theological convictions.” Calvin “is an environment of learning and wrestling, not an environment of constraining what we’re willing to wrestle with.” And, as Elzinga said at the town hall, “Racial justice, reconciliation, and cross-cultural engagement are integral parts of Calvin’s identity.”
These institutional commitments “allow us to continue to support all of our students,” says Associate Director of Student Success Kyle Heys. “Even in this administrative transition, we always want to bring a sense of calm to our work.” For Love, “I’ve just been focused on the work I’m doing here…this is my circle and sphere of influence, right? What can I do to foster good community and Christ-centeredness and mission-minded living here at Calvin, despite what may be going on out there?”
“I think that’s how we can practice solidarity and not be shaken and not be moved by threats and fears and all that consume us, but…be aware of it and speak against it and move in spite of it. I think a lot of us have adopted that type of mentality and I feel like we’ve been thriving,” said Love.
