Ball State University’s Board of Trustees has passed a resolution making diversity, equity and inclusion-related changes in response to an executive order. Photo from Ball State University.

News Release

MUNCIE — In response to an executive order by Pres. Donald Trump banning “illegal discrimination,” The Ball State University Board of Trustees approved a resolution that changed reference to diversity, equity and inclusion in Freedom of Expression and 2012 Values Statements.

In addition, the board promised to end any “diversity, equity, and inclusion program that violates any applicable federal or state discrimination law,” though no specific examples were given of such programs.

The executive order’s deadline was Monday, April 21, while Ball State President Geoffrey Mearns, who recommended the resolution, says the it will follow a 12-week process meant to ensure Ball State is in compliance.

“Our process included preparing to reassign a small number of employees to new responsibilities and confirming that our funding decisions are based solely on permissible criteria,” said Mearns. “We also modified some programs to ensure that it’s clear that these programs are available to every student.”

Mearns said that Ball State has received similar counsel from previous presidential administrations and has always adjusted policy to comply with its most recent guidance.

“It would be difficult, even hypocritical, to defy the Trump administration’s order and guidance,” he said, “simply because some people disagree with the administration’s legal analysis or its policy positions.”

Mearns pointed out that ignoring the executive order could have “significant adverse consequences” for Ball State and its pupils.

“For example, the administration could unilaterally suspend or terminate federal research grant contracts. The administration could also prohibit our faculty from receiving any future federal research grants all the way through January 2029; that would significantly impede faculty development and the impact of their research,” Mearns said.

He continued, “and if the administration were to conclude that we had failed to comply with the president’s executive order, the Department of Education could conceivably determine that our students are no longer eligible for federally funded financial aid. Things like Pell grants and federal student loans.”

Some of the changes to policy include the Freedom of Expression Statement, which originally read, Our University endeavors to maintain a culture and community that will inspire our members to pursue knowledge with rigor and curiosity, to speak with care, and work so that even the quietest or most under represented voices among us are heard.”

Its last passage now reads, ” … so that the perspectives of all people are heard.”

Another change removes references to “inclusive excellence,” and a definition of the term as “a commitment to respect and embrace equity, inclusion and diversity in people, ideas and opinions.”

The university’s 2012 Values Statement has also been edited, removing references to inclusion and diversity. In one such instance, a sentence asserting a commitment “to the pursuit of excellence by being inclusive of individuals without regard to race, religion, color, sex (except where sex is a bona fide qualification), sexual orientation, gender identity/gender expression, physical or mental disability, national origin, ancestry or age” has been removed.

In its place, a statement reads, “We are committed to the pursuit of institutional excellence by welcoming all people.”

A provision in the board’s resolution also gives Mearns power as president to “take any further action necessary to comply with state or federal laws, executive orders, or regulations applicable to the University.”

Mearns said the resolution concluded the university’s 2019-24 strategic plan, and that he will recommend the next iteration of the university’s plan to the board in the near future.