Weber State University has stripped the words “inclusion” and “equity” from its official mission statement to comply with the state’s anti-diversity law aimed at higher education.
That gives the Ogden school the distinction as being the first in the state to eliminate those now-banned words from its guiding vision — one of the most fundamental changes to come under the far-reaching measure. Already, the school has been among the most stringent in following the measure, going even further in some instances than required.
The latest change was granted final approval Thursday by the Utah Board of Higher Education, which oversees the eight traditional public colleges and universities in the state.
“I feel like our campus community feels good about our revisions,” Weber State President Brad Mortensen told The Salt Lake Tribune. “There are some folks who still want to use the prohibited words, but that’s not an option.”
Previously, Weber’s mission statement was two sentences that promised to provide “transformative educational experiences for students of all identities and backgrounds through meaningful personal connections with faculty and staff in and out of the classroom.”
“The university promotes student achievement, equity and inclusion,” it continued, “and vibrant community relationships through multiple credentials and degree pathways, experiential learning, research, civic engagement, and stewardship.”
Now, it’s abbreviated: “We transform lives and communities by educating students of all identities and backgrounds. We nurture student success through a supportive environment, individualized pathways, meaningful personal connections with faculty and staff, experiential learning and teaching, research, and civic engagement.”
The more generic language of “student success” in the updated mission statement mirrors that of HB261, the bill that overhauled diversity, equity and inclusion, or DEI, efforts across public universities and colleges, as well as K-12 schools and public offices.
Utah lawmakers passed the measure early last legislative session and Gov. Spencer Cox signed it into law.
Under the new restrictions, colleges cannot have centers or programs that provide resources catering to any specific identify, such as based on race or gender. And they are banned from using the words “diversity,” “equity” and “inclusion” in any official capacity, such as in a job title or office. Instead, schools were directed to create centers that supported and treated students from all backgrounds the same.
There’s been widespread change and fallout, starting last summer, since the bill took effect. At the University of Utah, that included shutting down centers for female students, Black students and LGBTQ+ students. And the school limited what topics that officially recognized student clubs could hold events about.
Previously, Utah Valley University was the first to change the name of its campus office for underrepresented students, shifting from the previously titled Office of Inclusion and Diversity to the Office of Institutional Engagement and Effectiveness.
Weber State closed all of its identity-based centers, which caused uproar and protests at the school.
Mortensen said the latest change to the mission statement hasn’t had that same reaction, at least at this point, even as it gets to the goals of what drives the school.
He said he created a committee to review the mission statement and the school’s strategic plan to fit with the new law.
“We had a whole section in our strategic plan that was an equity framework, a whole section on goals around equity, diversity and inclusion,” he said. “That was one of our five goal areas.”
That section has been removed, as well, along with the changes to the mission statement.
(Trent Nelson | The Salt Lake Tribune) Brad Mortensen speaks at his inauguration as the president of Weber State University in Ogden on Tuesday, Jan. 7, 2020.
Mortensen said the group took the opportunity to dig deeper and try to figure out what those words meant as far as what the school aimed to do, instead of using them “as a crutch,” as one professor put it.
That’s when they landed on “supportive environment” and “student success.”
The school’s board of trustees gave initial approval to the changes in November.
“That’s really how we want every student to feel,” the president added, “like you can come to Weber State and be successful here.”
