On January 14, 2025, West Virginia governor Patrick Morrisey issued Executive Order 3-25 prohibiting government agencies, including the state’s public colleges and universities, from using state funding for diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) initiatives.

The governor signed the new order on his first day in office. More specifically, it prohibits public institutions and nongovernmental organizations receiving state funding from using those funds as well as state property and resources to “grant or support DEI staff positions, positions, procedures or programs;” to require “education, training, activities, procedures, or programming ..[that] promotes or encourages the granting of preferences based on one person’s particular race, color, sex, ethnicity, or national origin over that of another;” or to mandate the disclosure of one’s sex, preferred pronouns, race, ethnicity, color, or national origin.

State agencies or organizations operating on state funds have until February 12 to identify any position, program, activity, or procedure that encourages preferential treatment “based on theories of DEI,” as well as any state money being used for that purpose. These administrators will then have another 90 days to propose plans to bring their activities in alignment with the executive order.

The executive order goes into effect immediately and fits into a broader pattern of states targeting DEI programs. At least 86 anti-DEI bills have been introduced across 28 states since 2023, with at least 14 becoming law.

Scholars at Risk is concerned about ideologically driven, government encroachments on universities’ authority to set policies concerning personnel, admissions, curricula, and the establishment of particular programs. Such actions undermine university autonomy and inhibit institutions’ ability to function freely, undermining academic freedom and democratic society generally. Moreover, actions targeting diversity and social justice efforts may also erode core university values including social responsibility and equitable access.

Sources:
https://apps.sos.wv.gov/adlaw/executivejournal/readpdf.aspx
https://www.chronicle.com/article/w-va-governors-dei-ban-anti-democratic-censorious-opponents-say
https://www.insidehighered.com/news/quick-takes/2025/01/15/west-virginia-governor-bans-dei-executive-order
https://wvmetronews.com/2025/01/15/new-governor-dei-has-absolutely-no-place-in-west-virginia-state-government/
https://www.thefire.org/news/west-virginia-executive-order-dei-unconstitutionally-limits-university-classroom-discussions