enhancing diversity | Campus Safe Words

TERM: enhancing diversity
RISK LEVEL: extreme

Definition

“Enhancing diversity” refers to the active effort to increase the presence of individuals from a variety of demographic or experiential backgrounds within an institution, program, or group. In higher education, the phrase is frequently used in faculty hiring plans, admissions policies, curriculum development, and grant proposals to express commitment to inclusion and representation.

Why It’s Risky

Under current federal directives and in states with anti-DEI legislation, “enhancing diversity” is viewed as a high-risk phrase that suggests identity-based decision-making. Executive Order 14173, along with laws like Texas Senate Bill 17 and Florida’s Stop W.O.K.E. Act, prohibits public institutions from adopting or promoting policies that use race, gender, or other protected characteristics as factors in employment, admissions, or programming. “Enhancing diversity” has become shorthand for initiatives perceived as ideologically driven or preferential, triggering legal reviews and defunding actions. Its use in job descriptions, strategic plans, search committee materials, or grant narratives is now a potential compliance liability, especially in publicly funded institutions.

Common Critiques

Critics argue that “enhancing diversity” promotes demographic engineering over individual merit, leading to perceptions of reverse discrimination or ideological filtering. In hiring and admissions, the phrase is seen as indicating an intent to give preferential treatment based on group identity rather than academic credentials or experience. Some policymakers contend that it pressures institutions to meet unspoken quotas or demographic targets. When used in curriculum design or student programming, it is often interpreted as a signal that ideological content may be prioritized over disciplinary rigor. In public records and legislative hearings, references to “enhancing diversity” have been cited as evidence of noncompliance with state and federal mandates for viewpoint neutrality and equal treatment. The phrase is increasingly associated with administrative overreach, politicized hiring practices, and costly bureaucracy—especially in conservative-controlled jurisdictions.

Suggested Substitutes

Expanding access and opportunity (in admissions or recruitment programs)
Broadening candidate outreach (in hiring or fellowships)
Including a range of perspectives (in course or panel design)
Building representative participation (in community or pipeline programs)
Strengthening academic inclusion through open competition (in program design or grant strategy)

These alternatives focus on lawful access and educational effectiveness without implying group-based selection.

When It May Still Be Appropriate

“Enhancing diversity” may still appear in academic research or older federal grant language, but institutions should avoid initiating new use of the phrase in any materials that could be reviewed by state legislators, trustees, or federal agencies enforcing Executive Order 14173. If quoting a required phrase from a grant, provide clear context and limit usage to what is explicitly mandated.

NOTES: Frame all goals in terms of institutional mission, educational excellence, and access—not identity. Avoid implying that diversity is an outcome to be engineered; instead, emphasize outreach, fairness, and expanded opportunity. Language should align with current legal standards and withstand scrutiny in audits, legislative inquiries, or media coverage.