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The University of Missouri–Kansas City announced Friday it will dissolve its diversity and inclusion office, KCUR reported.
In an email to the campus community, UMKC chancellor Mauli Agrawal said the institution would move to a “decentralized campus inclusion model” starting Nov. 1. He noted that the central office currently has 1.5 full-time employees, due to unrelated personnel departures over the past two years. But those positions, as well as others that are currently unfilled, will be moved to other departments.
Agrawal said the decision came after meeting with stakeholder groups about the university’s inclusion efforts. It follows similar moves at the University of Missouri–Columbia and the University of Kansas in keeping with “recent national and legislative trends.”
The chancellor added that UMKC’s DEI model was already largely decentralized, with groups like the student affairs division overseeing work to reduce gaps in academic achievement among different demographic groups. The full dissolution will strengthen existing decentralization, he said.
“When a goal or initiative is centered in one office, or under one leader, it’s too easy to think that work is someone else’s job, not ours,” Agrawal wrote in the email. “We all must contribute to the mission of ensuring that all students, faculty and staff are welcomed, valued and provided opportunities to succeed here at UMKC.”
