Straws in the Wind - Part 206

From Inside Higher Ed: After multiple censorship controversies over the past two months, Weber State University has announced a “revised approach” to how it enforces a sweeping anti–diversity, equity and inclusion law that the Utah Legislature passed in 2024. But it remains unclear exactly how it will change its actions. “With help from the Utah Commissioner of Higher Education, Weber State is currently reviewing our existing guidance, and where appropriate, will revise that guidance to be more nuanced in its understanding of where and how learning happens on our campuses,” interim president Leslie Durham wrote in a message to campus Friday. The Salt Lake Tribune reported earlier on the announcement.

The goal, Durham wrote, “is to uphold the letter and spirit of the law, but also to ensure we remain fiercely committed to free speech, academic freedom, and fostering an environment where everyone at WSU feels welcome to express their thoughts, engage different viewpoints, and learn from one another.” She said that “we are learning from early and well-intentioned efforts at working within this new framework.”

...Weber State made national headlines in October for censoring a conference ironically titled, Redacted: Navigating the Complexities of Censorship. A few days before the conference was to start, an official at the public institution ordered a student presenter to remove all references to DEI from their slides. Organizers ended up canceling the event after faculty pulled out in protest. The uncertified employee union held a teach-in instead, but it was also censored.

That wasn’t the end of Weber State’s speech restrictions. Late last month, Apache writer Darcie Little Badger announced on Bluesky she was withdrawing as keynote speaker at the university’s annual Native Symposium because the university sent her a list of 10 prohibited words and concepts, including “bias,” “oppression” and “racial privilege.” ...

Full story at https://www.insidehighered.com/news/faculty-issues/academic-freedom/2025/12/10/facing-criticism-weber-state-says-it-will-be-more.

From Inside Higher Ed: Utah System of Higher Education Commissioner Geoffrey Landward criticized Weber State University’s efforts to censor speakers in the name of state law... The university said last week it had revised its approach to enforcing the state’s anti-diversity, equity and inclusion law following several censorship controversies. Last month, Apache writer Darcie Little Badger pulled out of a speaking commitment at Weber State after the university sent her a list of prohibited words and concepts, including “bias,” “oppression” and “racial privilege.” In October, the university censored and canceled a conference about censorship. “That was frankly just misguided and is contrary to what we’re trying to do with invited speakers,” Landward [said]. “We’re not banning or censoring certain words or something because that kind of defeats the whole purpose of having viewpoint diversity.” ...

Full story at https://www.insidehighered.com/news/quick-takes/2025/12/17/utah-system-head-calls-out-weber-state-censorship.

Straws in the Wind - Part 128

From Inside Higher Ed: Associate professor of psychological studies Sarah Herrmann and one of her students at Weber State University were preparing to present their research at the university’s 27th annual Unity Conference, the theme of which was “Redacted: Navigating the Complexities of Censorship.”

“Everything seemed to be going according to plan,” Herrmann said. She has spent the past two years studying the impact of Utah’s HB 261—a state law that bans diversity, equity and inclusion practices in higher education—on student academic performance and persistence... But on Sept. 29, days before the conference was scheduled to begin, the student received an email directive from Joel Berrien Jr., director of Weber State’s Basic Needs Center: Remove all mentions of “DEI,” “diversity,” “equity” and “inclusion” from your slides and resubmit them. 

"At that point, I said, ‘We can’t in good conscience present our research without using those terms, and you should remove our presentation instead,’” Herrmann told Inside Higher Ed. “But it was very strange given how close it was to the conference,” which was scheduled for Oct. 2 and 3. Other faculty, unwilling to censor their own presentations or to support a censored event, also pulled out of the conference. 

Organizers decided to cancel the event on Oct. 1... The irony was not lost on the faculty: The university was censoring its own conference about censorship...

Full story at https://www.insidehighered.com/news/faculty-issues/academic-freedom/2025/10/08/weber-state-censors-then-cancels-censorship.

Straws in the Wind - Part 10

From the Chronicle of Higher Education: Earlier this year, Utah lawmakers passed two bills that cut $60 million to its higher-education system. That cut, however, came with a caveat — public colleges could earn the money back if they worked out a plan to shift the lost funds away from “operational inefficiencies” and toward high-demand, high-wage majors. The state’s eight public colleges have now spelled out precisely how they plan to do that.

After just 10 weeks of deliberating on what to cut, combine, or continue, leaders of Utah public colleges presented their “strategic reallocation” plans to the Utah System of Higher Education on Friday. All eight colleges’ plans were approved. Three colleges — the University of Utah, Utah State University, and Weber State University — were approved on the condition that they provide more details to the board later. Utah State’s approval is also dependent on review and approval by the institution’s next president.

Common strategies across the colleges included eliminating academic programs, cutting course offerings, reducing administrative staff, and consolidating programs.

The University of Utah plans to reallocate about $19.6 million over three years. Its report did not specify what academic programs it would be cutting, but said the resulting sums would be invested in “engineering, biotechnology, civic engagement, responsible AI, nursing & simulation, and behavioral health.” ...

Full story at https://www.chronicle.com/article/heres-what-utahs-colleges-are-doing-to-win-back-state-funding.