The vote comes as MSU, and universities across the country, respond to the Trump Administration's efforts to curtail DEI programs nationwide. The federal government has framed them as discriminatory in nature and antithetical to meritocracy, while threatening to investigate and cut funding to institutions that maintain them.

Trustee Rema Vassar disagreed with the title change. 

"I do not agree that we should capitulate to pressure around language changes," Vassar said.

Trustee Dennis Denno echoed Vassar’s sentiment, saying that he would abstain from the resolution.

"Just really tired of running away from the word diversity," Denno said.

Although Trustee Renee Knake Jefferson recognized the concerns by Vassar and Denno, she said the administration asked the board to support the title change.

"The work we do will not change, and the work will remain," Jefferson said.

Vassar voted no on the resolution; Denno abstained, with all else voting yes.

Black Students’ Alliance Political Affairs Director Nicashia Phillips denounced the title-change during the board meeting’s public comment period.

“I must be honest, this is not progress,” Phillips said. “It is regression, and it sends the message to every marginalized student that our belonging here is conditional, that the university's commitment to justice is negotiable, and that when federal pressure arises, the first thing to be sacrificed is the very work that makes MSU a safe space for us all.”

Earlier this week, Inclusion Communications Manager Henry Mochida told The State News that any title changes reflect the university’s collective goals and "intended outcomes."

"As the university continues to navigate various federal impacts, we remain committed to upholding our mission and values while ensuring compliance with government regulations through equal opportunities in education, research and outreach for all Spartans," said Mochida.

Although MSU voiced support for DEI in the early days of Trump’s second term, it has quietly backed away in some respects, citing compliance with government regulations.

In July, MSU removed references to DEI on several of its webpages including its 2030 Strategic Plan, multiple college websites and a DEI plan previously posted to the Office of the President’s website. Also, that month, the university announced it would no longer require DEI statements in job postings, hiring, evaluations or promotion and tenure decisions to ensure that the university complies with federal directives. 

More recently, the university asked several student organizations included in the Council of Racial and Ethnic Students & Council of Advocacy and Marginalized Students to change their mission statements in order to ensure compliance with federal anti-discrimination laws. As a result, groups included in CORES & CAMS will no longer receive automatic funding from MSU and must ensure their mission statements meet university-approved standards in order to remain registered student organizations.

Kathryn Harding, Associated Students of Michigan State University President, said that this directive was given to these organizations without enough notice.

“When we have known for months that department language was being shifted, students should not have been told weeks into the school year that this was going to affect them.”

Vassar, later on, said she was troubled by the way in which MSU has been "dismantling" DEI infrastructure – a process she says began in October 2024, a month before the presidential election took place.

“The question before us isn't whether we'll face federal enforcement. Courts have answered that. The question is whether we believe in shared governance, or whether we only extend that principle to those who already hold power, or whose opinions you believe in,” Vassar said.

The Black Students’ Alliance, earlier this week, released a statement demanding that the university provide a formal, written document outlining all DEI-associated changes that impact RSOs, while also requesting a meeting with MSU President Kevin Guskiewicz by the end of October.

The office Bennett works in has had its title changed as well: formerly known as the Office of Institutional Diversity and Inclusion, it's now called the Office for Inclusive Excellence and Impact.