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Ohio State says it implemented Senate Bill 1; sunsetting DEI offices, creates 'Buckeye Commons' for student support
Summary
Ohio State University President Ted Carter said the university implemented Ohio Senate Bill 1 before the fall term, announced the sunsetting of two DEI offices and described a new student-facing office called Buckeye Commons that university leaders and student representatives designed to replace some services.
President Ted Carter of the Ohio State University said the university has implemented Ohio Senate Bill 1 and has reorganized campus diversity offices, creating a new student service hub called Buckeye Commons.
At a Columbus Metropolitan Club forum at the National Veterans Memorial and Museum, Carter said, “Yes. We did sunset the office of diversity inclusion. We did sunset the center for belonging and social change.” He described Buckeye Commons as a centralized place intended to provide students with help on resumes, internships, mental-health referrals and other supports previously connected to campus DEI offices.
Why it matters: Carter framed the changes as part of a broader effort to comply with a state law while preserving services for students. He said the majority of implementation will be transparent to students and that the university has worked with faculty and student leaders to design replacement services.
Carter said student leaders helped shape the Buckeye Commons model. “Now we have a place where students can go to get help with resumes, to get help with, how, how to get something that just takes care of them and the personal challenges that they're going through,” he said.
Carter and other university officials emphasized that academic freedom and classroom instruction remain unchanged. He said the board of trustees and university administrators have issued guidance to faculty and staff and that those administrative changes were completed ahead of the fall term, when students begin moving onto campus.
Carter acknowledged that the office closures attracted public attention. “A lot of that's, what's gotten the headlines, but we haven't talked about what came in the aftermath of that,” he said, noting the work to create Buckeye Commons and to expand student support across campus.
Transcript evidence for this article includes Carter’s remarks at the Columbus Metropolitan Club forum about Senate Bill 1, the sunsetting of the offices, and the creation of Buckeye Commons.
Looking ahead: Carter said the university will continue to develop Buckeye Commons and related student supports and that the institution intends to provide the resources needed for students to succeed under the new structure.
