Colleges Around The Us Cautiously Navigate Trump's Dei Crackdown

In Boston, Northeastern University renamed a program for underrepresented students, emphasizing "belonging" for all. In New Jersey, a session at Rutgers University catering to students from historically Black colleges had to be abruptly canceled. And around the U.S., colleges are assessing program names and titles that could run afoul of a Trump administration crackdown on diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives.

New White House orders ban DEI policies in programs that receive federal money. Across higher education, institutions rely on federal funding for research grants, projects and contract work.

As they figure out how to adapt, some schools are staying quiet out of uncertainty, or fear. President Donald Trump has called for compliance investigations at some schools with endowments over 1 billion .

Others have vowed to stand firm.

The president of Mount Holyoke College, a liberal arts school in Massachusetts, said she hopes colleagues in higher education will not capitulate to Trump's vision for the country. Danielle Holley said she believes Trump's orders are vulnerable to legal challenges.