MIT Announces Plans to Close DEI Office

MIT joins a growing list of universities looking to scale back their DEI programs to secure federal funding.

The Massachusetts Institute of Technology campus in Cambridge, Mass., on May 25, 2025. Learner Liu/The Epoch Times

The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) has decided to shutter its diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) office, becoming the latest institution to adopt such changes under pressure from the federal government.

In a letter that was dated May 22 but only drew media attention a week later, MIT President Sally Kornbluth said the university would “wind down” its Institute Community and Equity Office, which described its mission as “stewarding MIT’s values and their interconnections.”

The office will be replaced by a standing committee intended to promote community-building and support, Kornbluth said. The committee will be led by staff but also include students and faculty members.

The office’s “signature programs” will be carried on by other departments on campus, according to the letter.

The decision followed an internal review of the school’s top-down approach to advancing DEI goals. The review found that current DEI initiatives received “real appreciation,” according to Kornbluth, but also showed “a broad desire to rethink how this work is done in practice.”

The announcement comes as many universities scale back, if not eliminate, their DEI programs to secure their continued access to federal funding. On the first day of his second term, President Donald Trump issued executive orders prohibiting federal dollars from being used to promote DEI ideology, which he declared not only violates anti-discrimination laws but also threatens “national unity” and “traditional American values.”

MIT’s neighbor, Harvard University, has come under intense federal scrutiny. The government has demanded that Harvard dismantle its diversity programs and, as part of an unprecedented effort to force systemic changes, seeks to terminate the university’s foreign student visa program and cancel all federal contracts with the university.

MIT’s DEI restructuring started in February, when its first-ever vice president for equity and inclusion, Karl Reid, stepped down after leading the equity office for just over a year.

“Obviously, this change comes at a time when colleges and universities are being scrutinized for how they manage and support their communities,” Kornbluth said at the time.

After Reid’s departure, Kornbluth commissioned a working group of senior faculty and staff to review the university’s DEI framework. Their findings were presented last month to MIT’s academic council and formed the basis for the changes now underway.

Following the recommendations, Kornbluth said the school will remain committed to building a diverse community but “shift focus to community building at the local level.”

As part of the change, Reid’s former role will be eliminated, too.

“MIT is in the talent business,” she said. “Our success depends on attracting exceptionally talented people of every background, from across the country and around the world, and making sure everyone at MIT feels welcome and supported.”

The May 22 letter did not include a timeline for when the changes would take effect. The Epoch Times has reached out to MIT for comment.

While MIT is not facing the same level of federal pressure as Harvard, it is among 45 universities under investigation by the Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights for alleged “race-exclusionary practices” in graduate programs. The probe centers on the schools’ partnership with The PhD Project, a nonprofit that purports to provide doctoral students with academic support and networking opportunities but, according to the department, “limits eligibility based on the race of participants.”