DEI graduation requisite to be replaced with new Global Citizen program

Photo by Samantha Rosinski, Staff Photographer

After two years, Chapman is axing its Diversity, Equity and Inclusion course requirement, the Office of the Provost announced on August 4. 

This decision comes after the DEI department was reorganized and renamed to the Promising Futures First-Generation Program in April of this year as part of a larger response to pressure from the Trump administration. With these further changes, some Chapman faculty have expressed concerns about not being involved in the decision-making process.

An email sent to faculty outlines that the new courses will include elements of history, schools of thought, philosophy and politics. The reasoning for the change was said to be based on the university’s mission of empowering students to be ethical and informed global citizens.

“To be clear, the purpose of this course requirement is not to impose, advocate or reward certain viewpoints over others, but to encourage breadth of learning about others and viewpoints,” the email states.

Interim Provost Michael Ibba said that the federal government has been cracking down on universities based on alleged unlawful discrimination. The Trump administration has already publicly revoked grant funding from multiple institutions, citing certain projects as “wasteful grantmaking” in a recent executive order.

Ibba said that the change won’t get rid of the classes that are already offered, but will introduce more options for students. 

“This review allows us to expand the number of classes that meet the graduation requirement,” Ibba said. “We will be issuing guidance to enable faculty and deans to work together to ensure that steps are taken to expose students to various angles and differing viewpoints and to help them feel comfortable expressing themselves.”

Richard Ruppel, an English professor at Chapman, said that while he thinks this switch won’t change much for students, there will be more underlying consequences.

“I find it ominous that Trump can rattle Chapman this much, forcing our administration to violate our Faculty Manual to placate him,” Ruppel said. “The Faculty Manual gives faculty control of all curricular matters, including graduation requirements. So when the administration alters those requirements, it should seek the approval of the faculty.”

According to Ibba, the Office of the Provost consulted college deans, leaders from the faculty senate, the Undergraduate Academic Council and representatives from the Promising Futures First-Generation Program in the process of making the change. 

“The appropriate faculty councils were fully included,” said Ibba. “It was critical to include the deans so that all the colleges and schools were aware of the ongoing changes, and that is why the deans and I will be providing guidance to faculty to ensure they are applying the relevant aspects of the Faculty Manual in how they teach their classes and create an academic environment that is line with Chapman’s mission and policies.”

Ruppel pointed out that the re-structuring and renaming of DEI isn't unique to Chapman, noting that these actions are representative of a larger issue.

“The (Trump) administration is extorting universities: change your hiring and admission policies, change your curricula, reduce the power of faculty governance, muzzle faculty and students, or we will stop your funding,” Ruppel said.

Others are not convinced that the change in requirements is fully about Trump. 

Joel Kotkin, presidential fellow in urban futures at Chapman, said that DEI has become too divisive and distracting. He believes that scaling back will be good for the university. 

“We can focus on what matters,” Kotkin told The Panther. “Not skin color or ethnicity, but on helping poorer students to move forward.”

He said that this can be achieved through more scholarships and employment for poorer students — which he argued DEI initiatives didn’t do enough of. Kotkin also said that higher education has been losing public support, and that universities have to adapt.

“Rather than obsess about whatever nonsense comes from Trump, schools should look to fix what they are doing and provide a more useful education for our customers,” he said.

Pete Simi, a sociology professor at Chapman, said that he is worried for students because of “the attack on DEI,” and that this decision isn’t how he hoped the semester would start.

“This suggests a fall semester with heightened tension and uncertainty to say the least,” Simi said.

Simi noted that the change won’t affect students on the road to graduation. The Trump administration’s desire to structure reality by limiting language is the greater issue, he said.

The restructuring of the requirement marks the end of DEI-related curriculum at Chapman, just a few years after these programs were put into place.

The Global Citizen requirement will go into effect for the Fall 2025 semester.