The Feinberg School of Medicine appears to have scrubbed its web page for its Office of Diversity & Inclusion, the first sign of Northwestern beginning to roll back diversity initiatives amid President Donald Trump’s looming executive orders.
The website now shows that the office has been renamed the Office of Health Equity and has been largely scrubbed of the words “diversity” and “inclusion.” Mentions of various, long-standing Black Feinberg affinity groups, including the Daniel Hale Williams Society and Emma Reynolds Circle, also appear to have been taken down.
The new office’s mission statement reads that it’s driven by the goal “to advance healthcare and improve health for all people,” a stark contrast compared to the former office’s, which once read: “to foster a culture of belongingness and inclusion” at the medical school.
A University spokesperson said that the updates on the website were “a long-planned evolution” added to better align with NU’s “shared efforts with clinical partners at the Chicago academic medical center regarding community and community engagement.”
The developments in Feinberg come after Trump issued an executive order earlier last month ordering the elimination of DEI policies in federally funded programs. To ensure compliance, he has suggested fining schools up to their endowment amount if they don’t follow through with his agenda.
Many universities nationwide have already removed mentions of their diversity and inclusion programs on their web pages, including the University of Pennsylvania and Northeastern University. They similarly renamed their DEI offices, refashioned their mission statements or removed staff members.
Like other universities, NU has had to reckon with Trump’s flurry of executive orders while considering how to maintain its own pocketbook. Congress, separately, has had ongoing discussions over reducing university endowments.
On Wednesday, the University announced that it will be reducing non-personnel expense budgets in the current fiscal year by 10% in response to the Trump administration. Other personnel actions, such as hiring, compensation increases and additional payment plans, will be subject to review by the University’s leadership staff.
A statement from University leadership on Wednesday read: “While we are doing all we can to advocate for and protect our community, we feel it is necessary to take these steps until further notice to help ensure Northwestern is best positioned to navigate this period of uncertainty without permanent damage to our operations or mission.”
Feinberg, specifically, also faces potential cost-cutting ahead as the National Institutes of Health could halt millions of dollars of federal research funding, per another one of Trump’s orders. In the 2023-2024 school year, the medical school secured about $460 million worth of NIH funding. And, in 2024, Feinberg ranked 13th in NIH funding ranks among all medical schools in the US.
NU’s undergraduate school, Kellogg School of Management and Pritzker School of Law appear to not have changed their diversity and inclusion webpages, as of now.
Email: jerrywu2027@u.northwestern.edu
X: @Jerrwu
Related Stories:
— Schill email provides updates and clarity following questions of federal funding freeze
