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University of Idaho reorganizes diversity offices after State Board resolution; services moved under Dean of Students
Summary
Following a State Board of Education resolution, University of Idaho leaders told JFAC they dissolved several campus DEI‑branded offices and reassigned staff to new roles under student services, retaining a tribal relations post and first‑generation and success programs for students.
University of Idaho officials told the Joint Finance‑Appropriations Committee on Jan. 27 that, in response to a State Board of Education decision, the university has reorganized or dissolved multiple diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI)‑branded offices and reassigned staff to other student support roles.
President C. Scott Green said the university closed the Office of Equity and Diversity, the Office of Multicultural Affairs, the Black/African‑American Cultural Center, the LGBTQIA office and the Women’s Center; the Chief Diversity Officer position was repurposed and the incumbent re‑assigned to serve as Executive Director of Tribal Relations. Green said those staff positions were reassigned within student services, with revised job descriptions and a goal of maintaining services for students while complying with Board policy.
Why it matters: The changes affect student support structures that provided targeted services to specific student populations. Lawmakers asked whether positions were eliminated or moved and how services for affected students would be preserved.
What university officials told the committee
- Staff reassignments and services: Green said staff who previously worked in the dissolved offices mostly remain employed but now report to the Dean of Students and have rewritten job descriptions. He confirmed not all prior services are provided in the same form; one LGBTQ staff member left and that FTE has not been refilled.
- Replacement student supports: Green highlighted the university’s Vandal Success program and a new first‑generation student support unit as broader, inclusive programs available to all students. He said the first‑generation unit was still early in development but open to enrollments and noted early interest from non‑first‑generation students as well.
Committee follow‑ups
Senators and representatives asked for written descriptions of the new roles and duties for reassigned employees; the university agreed to provide that documentation to the committee.
Ending
Green said the university aimed to implement the Board resolution “with care and intentionality” and to maintain services for students while complying with statewide policy.
