14697: Navigating Anti-DEI Legislation in a U.S. Context: Perspectives from Administrators

According to the Chronicle of Higher Education's DEI tracker , 86 anti-DEI legislation have been proposed in 28 states, resulting in 14 becoming law to date (54 failed to pass). This anti-DEI legislation has had a profound immediate impact on colleges, universities, and governmental agencies, though spillover effects have also led to several for-profit organizations eliminating or reducing their DEI investments and programming. In this Professional Development Workshop (PDW), we aim to offer support to members of our academic community in navigating this complex anti-DEI landscape. Uniquely, this PDW will give voice to various DEI administrators who are situated in states where anti-DEI legislation has been enacted. The session is organized around a panel where DEI administrators will speak about how their universities have practically responded to the anti-DEI legislation, how their careers have been impacted, how the culture and climate at their universities have changed, and what the challenges and opportunities they are facing and anticipating moving forward. This PDW's goals are to give administrators an opportunity to share their perspectives, provide strategies to continue to do DEI work in this climate, allow participants to ask the administrators questions, and maintain a supportive community for DEI scholars and practitioners.