ANN ARBOR, Mich. (Michigan News Source) – Nearly a year after the University of Michigan announced it would shutter its central Office of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (ODEI) and scrap its sweeping “DEI 2.0” strategic plan, the obituary appears to have been premature.

Rebrand, reassign, repeat.

In March 2025, then-President Santa Ono said the university would close the Office of DEI and the Office for Health Equity and Inclusion, eliminate or reassign staff, and move in a new direction.

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But according to an analysis by The College Fix, a news website that focuses on higher education and campus culture issues, much of what DEI represented hasn’t vanished – it’s simply been redistributed.

DEI everywhere.

From the Law School’s commitment to diversity “in myriad forms,” to the Ross School of Business’ Office of Community, Culture, and Belonging that fosters an “inclusive environment,” to equity initiatives embedded in nursing, public health, social work, and environmental sustainability, DEI language remains woven throughout the campus.

The former National Center for Institutional Diversity has been rebranded as the Bowman Center. Of the 26 staff members who worked in the now-defunct central DEI office, 22 remain employed at Michigan – many reassigned to new or renamed units such as “Access and Opportunity.”

Philosophy undeterred.

University officials did not respond to multiple media inquiries from The College Fix about whether employees still hold primarily DEI-focused roles.

What’s clear is this: while the DEI central office door may have closed, the commitment to a DEI philosophy appears alive across the campus, committees, and curricula.