Study Proves Hiring DEI Officers Doesn't Work; Can Badly Backfire

WASHINGTON - July 13, 2025 - PRLog -- A major study (https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1002/soej.12584) of over 400 universities shows that hiring an executive-level chief diversity officer (CDO) to promote racial diversity did not produce any statistically significant results over the period of almost 20 years which were studied, says public interest law professor John Banzhaf.

Indeed, says Banzhaf, having a campus official, department, or program with "DEI" in its title is like posting a "KICK ME" sign, except these read "INVESTIGATE ME."

Unfortunately, many American universities were mislead in being told not to worry when Trump warned that "All Federal Funding will STOP for any College, School, or University that allows illegal protests. . . NO MASKS!," and also when he threatened lawsuits and funding cutoffs if they continued to embrace and practice DEI.

But, as Professor Banzhaf warned at the time, while a slow, tedious, and forgiving process of investigation and possible fund cutoffs may have been the practice under prior administrations, it is unlikely to be followed by the new administration.

This, of course, is exactly what has happened, and in some cases the proceedings against the university - e.g. George Mason (https://www.insidehighered.com/news/quick-takes/2025/07/1...) - were triggered by complaints filed by their own faculty.

In addition, the Department of Justice [DOJ] recently announced (https://www.google.com/url?esrc=s&q=&rct=j&sa...) that it will begin using the federal False Claims Act [FCA, 31 U.S.C. § 3729 et seq.] to force disgorgement of money from colleges and universities if any federal funding is used for DEI-type programs.

Indeed, DOJ feels so strongly that it encourages faculty and staff to initiate their own law suits.

Professor Banzhaf, began urging fellow faculty members to report any DEI-type activity, programs, or employees.

The new announcement (https://www.google.com/url?esrc=s&q=&rct=j&sa=U&url=https://www.justice.gov/dag/media/1400826/dl%3Finline%3D%26utm_medium%3Demail%26utm_source%3Dgovdelivery&ved=2ahUKEwjPkNPBoLWNAxU9MlkFHdJrFxQQFnoECAEQAw&usg=AOvVaw2wseLeHtIpaYFAQ6ZNfqHa) puts many additional programs and forms of discrimination in serious jeopardy.

Anticipating just such a crackdown from the new Trump administration, many universities have sought to protect at least part of their illegal activities by changing the names and titles of programs and staff positions, and/or by trying to hide the activities.

Although this may make it somewhat more difficult for the federal government to root them out, faculty and staff at universities are usually in a unique position to spot such subterfuges.

Also, as employees, they often have access to sources of information not easily available for federal investigators.

In light of the new DOJ directive he predicts that many more disgruntled university employees will either file federal agency complaints (https://www.justice.gov/civil/report-fraud) (anonymously if desired) with DOJ, or bring their own FCA lawsuits.

Indeed, even those who are not displeased with DEI may be tempted to file formal complaints by the large financial reward possible for reporting violations, which can be done anonymously if desired.

http://banzhaf.net/   jbanzhaf3ATgmail.com  @profbanzhaf