The administration’s research funding and DEI cuts present an existential threat to regional public universities like Southern Illinois University, the economic backbone of the conservative rural region it serves.

Earlier this month, the U of A removed references to DEI from its website. Now more than 1,500 students, faculty, and staff have signed a petition questioning the elimination of the DEI language.

A series of bills targeting diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives in state agencies, colleges and universities are circulating through the Legislature as Republican lawmakers look to align with President Donald Trump’s executive order ending DEI programs.

As Donald Trump returns to the White House, a newly emboldened anti-DEI bloc has gained powerful allies.