University of Denver ends DEI initiatives to protect funding, but chancellor says school isn't 'kowtowing'

The University of Denver is doing away with practices and programs supporting students of color and other marginalized scholars out of fear that the school could lose federal funding under a presidential administration hostile toward diversity.

The rollbacks apply to diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives, which often help people of color, LGBTQ students and low-income residents have equal access to educational opportunities. The Trump administration has railed against DEI, threatening to pull funding from institutions that have these initiatives, claiming they represent unlawful discrimination.

Chancellor Jeremy Haefner told The Denver Post that inclusivity remains a core value at DU and vowed the federal government will not strong-arm the campus into shirking from that.

“I don’t feel like it’s kowtowing,” Haefner said. “We have to self-reflect and ask, ‘Can we do this differently?’ And, by golly, I know we can, 'cause we’re a damn smart community and passionate about a lot of things, and we work so hard to support our students. I just know that if we’re self-critical and realize there are other ways of supporting our values, we’re going to find the ways and be in compliance with the law. I’m excited by that.”

Students and local organizations that support diverse scholars are pushing back, raising concerns about what they consider to be DU signaling a waning, conditional support for Black and brown students who have historically faced more obstacles to obtaining college degrees.

“It’s just really horrible to see,” said Camryn Gunter, a 21-year-old DU physics and math major, and president of the campus’s Black Student Alliance.

Haefner announced the changes in a letter to the private liberal arts college’s community last month, writing that DU was eliminating:

—Scholarships, internships, mentorships or leadership programs intended for a specific racial group or that target underserved geographic areas

—Prompts on student or employee applications asking applicants to describe overcoming an obstacle or provide a diversity statement

—Spaces designated for specified groups, such as a study area for students of color, even if the spaces are open to all

—DEI training

In the letter, Haefner wrote that he was “deeply disappointed” by the U.S. Department of Justice’s interpretation of the law surrounding DEI and its potential consequences. Still, he said he does not believe the university will lose students of color.

DU has not been explicitly called out by the Trump administration for its DEI initiatives, Haefner told The Post last week, but the risk analysis was too great for him to ignore. Around 80% of DU’s $52 million in research expenditures was federally funded in 2024.

The rollbacks take effect this academic year. Any students currently receiving race-based scholarships will receive their promised dollars, Haefner said.

‘Discrimination against minorities’

But Gunter, the Black Student Alliance president, said she wants to leave the university after hearing the news.

The Cultural Center on campus — a hub for diverse students — has already experienced downsizing, she said, and now its future feels uncertain. Gunter said the center informed the BSA that its annual “welcome back” cookout was no longer allowed under the DEI rollbacks.

Gunter said she felt particularly disheartened after meeting with the chancellor in the spring, pleading with him to provide more support to students of color on campus. She said he assured her the university was committed to diversity.

Resources specifically for Black students bolstered Gunter, who said an overwhelmingly white campus like DU could be isolating for students who are often the only Black person in a room.

“I definitely feel very unsupported,” Gunter said. “This is discrimination against minorities. We need your support now more than ever, and we are scared. All we want is just the chance to have a higher education like everybody else, and we need these resources so desperately.”

In the coming weeks, Haefner said, the university will launch new initiatives to ensure all students on campus feel welcomed and supported.

“I know this is really hard and hit a lot of our communities hard,” Haefner said. “What I would be proud of about our university is if every student, every faculty member, every staff, even every alum, were to take a step back and say, ‘You know, the changes that happened at DU were good for me because I truly felt like I was welcomed. I truly felt like I belonged in some sense. And when there were times I struggled, I had support and people to talk with and really feel like they cared for me.'”

Financial aid, research funds at risk

The DOJ released guidance on July 30 outlining what the administration considers unlawful discrimination, including scholarships, programs or physical spaces for students of specific racial groups.

The guidance also classified scholarships for first-generation students as unlawful discrimination, but Haefner said the campus did not pull its first-generation resources because around 40% of students who are the first in their family to attend college at DU were white.

Haefner acknowledged that existing students might feel disappointed by the changes, but said many faculty members expressed relief because they felt vulnerable to the potential loss of federal funding.

The biggest risk, Haefner said, would come if the Trump administration rescinded DU’s federal financial aid, which would result in a loss of hundreds of millions of dollars that would make education less accessible to students.

Additionally, the loss of federal research dollars would hit the university hard, Haefner said. In the spring, DU reported that 11 research projects had been impacted by federal funding freezes, including one examining how same-sex couples’ health changes when they get married.

Haefner has spoken with the leaders of other Colorado universities who have also made changes to align with federal DEI directives, he said.

Colorado State University previously announced staffing and policy changes to comply with federal DEI directives. The University of Colorado has altered the names of initiatives once labeled “DEI,” and a spokesperson for the Boulder campus said it complies with federal and state laws on DEI guidance.

‘It’s tragic because it’s working’

Ben Ralston, CEO of the Sachs Foundation, a Colorado-based nonprofit that supports Black community members through scholarships, said universities acquiescing to the Trump administration’s DEI purge means fewer students of color will graduate with a college degree.

Even just announcing the changes signals to students that the university’s support of them is now conditional, he said.

“We’re already seeing the threats have been effective,” Ralston said. “Unfortunately, there is nothing much to say other than that it’s tragic because it’s working. They’re aimed to weaken what higher education is intended to do, which is to challenge new ideas and push forward discourse, and we just currently have an administration that doesn’t want things challenged, doesn’t want new discourse.”

DU’s student body is challenging its leadership over the rollbacks.

The Student Bar Association at DU’s Sturm College of Law said the student senate voted on Aug. 27 to approve a resolution of no confidence in Chancellor Haefner and DU’s provost, general counsel, and vice chancellor of diversity, equity and inclusion.

Members of the Student Bar Association released a statement that was signed on to by more than 30 DU student organizations, including the Black Law Students’ Association, Middle Eastern and North African Law Student Association and Latin Law Student Association.

“We see through arguments founded solely on hate and malice, and so, too, are able to speak to the sheer recklessness and damage these arguments create,” the statement said. “Our understanding shows us we are stronger when united in our different identities and experiences, and that only when we work together are we able to build a nation that is truly greater than the one that came before.”

Haefner vowed that the policy changes would not erode DU’s values and that leadership would find ways that comply with federal guidance to continue supporting vulnerable students.

“We hear you. We see you. We want you here,” Haefner said. “We know that these decisions are hard and you may not agree with them. But the University of Denver is an innovative place when it comes to its values and living up to its values, and we want you to know what we’ll be making sure everyone is welcome here, and that includes our students of color.”

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