Commonwealth Policy Center

University of Kentucky President Eli Capilouto denounced efforts by Republican state lawmakers to limit diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives better known as DEI. He also criticized a bill that would regularly evaluate tenured professors who aren’t doing their job. Capilouto said that the DEI bill would not allow UK “to build a community where everyone feels as though they belong as we pursue our mission to advance this state in everything that we do.” Of course, there’s another view on DEI programs. Critics argue they do the exact opposite of what he says. DEI divides campuses along ideological lines like race, gender, and political views. And they also marginalize dissenting, conservative voices. The DEI “reset” bills would lessen division and ensure Kentucky’s universities are a marketplace of ideas, not echo chambers of left wing ideology.