West Virginia University will merge the university’s standalone centers for Black Culture and LBGTQ+ into a new center that will still offer those supportive services to students.
The campus change follows Gov. Patrick Morrisey’s ban on diversity, equity and inclusion practices for entities receiving state funds.
Shauna Johnson, WVU’s executive director of strategic communications, said that with new leadership in place at the university, the WVU Division of Student Life “has implemented organizational changes designed to better align its resources and teams with the evolving needs of students.”
The Center for Black Culture and LGBTQ+ Center will be brought together in the new Center for Community Connections.
Johnson said that, going forward, arts and entertainment programming, Greek Life, the Student Involvement and Leadership Center, and the new Center for Community Connections will fall under Student Engagement and Leadership.
“These changes aim to foster greater collaboration and more effectively support student engagement, well-being, and success. There is no intention for staffing levels to decrease because of this transition,” Johnson said. “Furthermore, this realignment is not a reduction in programming as Student Life will continue to provide every student with the support they need.”
Last year, WVU shuttered its Division of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion following Morrisey’s executive order banning DEI.
The acronym DEI represents “diversity, equity and inclusion” policies aimed at promoting equality in government and workplaces. Morrisey, a Republican, explained last year that the policies can give “special preferences unlawfully benefiting one group over another” due to race, age, ethnicity and more.
WVU opened a new unit, the Division of Campus Engagement and Compliance, with a “redefined mission,” according to a memo distributed around campus.
Along with Morrisey’s anti-DEI order, the Trump administration banned DEI on college campuses, saying ongoing diversity initiatives could threaten federal funding for higher education institutions.
President Donald Trump’s rollback of DEI has faced legal challenges, and a judge in February blocked the DEI ban across federally funded institutions. A federal appeals court lifted that injunction, saying that the order likely does not violate the Constitution.
