Penn’s four undergraduate and 12 graduate schools have scrubbed references to diversity, equity, and inclusion from their respective webpages over the past two weeks.

On Jan. 20, President and 1968 Wharton graduate Donald Trump signed an executive order requiring universities that receive federal funding — such as Penn — to terminate any DEI programs that could be in violation of federal civil rights laws. In response, Penn has revised longstanding University policies and initiated a series of modifications to DEI initiatives and programs. 

All references to diversity and affirmative action were wiped from Penn’s nondiscrimination and equal opportunity policies on Feb. 11. 

“The new policy and statement, which appear below, reflect Penn’s long-standing commitment to values of excellence, freedom of inquiry and expression, and respect,” senior University administrators wrote in a note prefacing the policy change. “We understand that the revisions to federal laws and regulations can be troubling when they change rapidly.”

Three days later, Penn removed its central DEI website, and a brief three-sentence statement about Penn’s “commitment to equal opportunity” replaced pages of information about academic inclusion programs, demographic data, and student affinity groups.

“We have initiated a review of our programs in this area to ensure that they are both consistent with the new federal government guidance and Executive Orders, federal, state, and local law, and our values,” the revised website reads. “We remain committed to providing a respectful and welcoming environment to our faculty, staff, and students.”

As Penn quietly rolls back policies, programs, and initiatives it once championed, The Daily Pennsylvanian compiled the key changes each of the University’s schools has made to their DEI websites so far.

School of Arts and Sciences

What was formerly called the Office of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion for the School of Arts and Sciences was renamed the Office of Academic Excellence and Engagement. The office’s webpage was updated to remove references to DEI on Feb. 14. 

Departments across the College of Arts and Sciences were also renamed and revised to exclude references to DEI. 

On Feb. 12, the webpage for Diversity Equity Engagement at Penn in STEM — a graduate school preview event — was scrubbed of all explicit mentions of DEI. Two days later, the original website for the Science Outreach Initiative was deactivated.

By Feb. 20, the Diversity and Inclusion webpage for the Psychology department was taken down, which included the Inclusion, Diversity, Equity, and Action Workgroup for the Clinical Training program. The DEI website for the Center for Outreach, Research, and Education was also scrubbed of nearly all information. 

The diversity section of the website for the Department of Earth and Environmental Science — which used to include a statement, standing committee, and resources on DEI — was taken down on Feb. 21.

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The Fels Institute of Government's DEI page — which originally featured statistics on the percentages of first generation, underrepresented minority, and international students in each cohort — shut down as of Feb. 20 and now redirects to a page titled "Student Experience." All references to DEI statistics have been removed.

The Wharton School 

The Wharton School’s primary DEI page was replaced with a three-sentence statement emphasizing the school’s “commitment to equal opportunity” on Feb. 12, after changes to departmental sites began as early as Feb. 7.

By Feb. 12, the website for MBA Diversity Fellows was removed. The Wharton Doctoral webpage for diverse community — which had previously included resources for scholarship applicants, international students, and women — was shut down on Feb. 14.

The website for the Introduction to Diversity in Doctoral Education and Scholarship was initially scrubbed of the word “diversity” before being completely taken down by Feb. 14.

On Feb. 17, the foundational course listings for the MBA major and DEI concentration at Wharton were changed to include courses that do not explicitly refer or relate to DEI. New MBA major foundational courses include MGMT 6710: “Executive Leadership” and MGMT 7280: “Navigating Difficult Conversations in Business and Beyond.” The list of foundational courses for the undergraduate MBA concentration also now includes the latter, under the course code MGMT 2280, along with MGMT 2390: “Leading and Managing Teams” and MGMT 2950: “Synchrony at Work.” 

The Harris Family Alternative Investments Program dismantled a page referencing diversity funding, which supported a “range of initiatives centered on diversity and inclusion,” on Feb. 19. The website for the Vice Deans’ Diversity and Inclusion Fund, which was meant to support “student-led programs that further knowledge around issues of diversity, equity, and inclusion,” was removed on Feb. 20.

The student community page for the MBA program was initially changed from “Diversity at Wharton" before being completely shut down by Feb. 21.

The diversity and belonging page for the Lauder Institute was initially renamed to “Inclusion & Belonging,” but was eventually stripped to only include news selections and was removed by Feb. 22.

School of Engineering and Applied Science

As of Feb. 11, all pages — including the school’s commitment to diversity, the freshmen coaching program, the list of diversity advisors for Penn Bioengineering, and the site on diversity and climate — previously housed under what used to be the School of Engineering and Applied Science Office of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion now redirect to the Cora Ingrum Center for Community and Outreach.

Staff titles for SEAS administrators have also been altered to remove the words “diversity,” “equity,” and “inclusion.”

As of Feb. 11, the overview page for Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering no longer included the phrase “diversity and inclusion.” Other pages have been taken down entirely. 

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The Computer and Information Science department's list of funding sources for underrepresented students was removed on Feb. 19 and now redirects to the main page for fellowships and aid. 

School of Nursing

The website that centered on diversity for Penn’s School of Nursing was shut down and inaccessible as of Feb. 13. 

In 2021, the Nursing School received a grant from the Trustees’ Council of Penn Women directed toward the Penn Nursing’s Social Justice Project. At the time of publication, the website dedicated to the initiative is still active. 

Annenberg School for Communication

Annenberg’s DEI page is no longer available, as it was replaced with a new page titled “Community, Inclusion, and Culture at Annenberg.” The DP was unable to confirm when this change occurred. As of December 2023, Annenberg's DEI page was still active.

Previously, the page was split into three sections for diversity, equity, and inclusion, and highlighted Annenberg’s commitment to each of these initiatives. The new page eliminates any mention of “diversity,” “minorities,” and “underrepresented” students. 

School of Dental Medicine

The School of Dental Medicine’s websites for the Office of Faculty Diversity & Mentorship, the Office of Student Diversity & Inclusion, and the Office of Multicultural Affairs & Inclusion, as well as the Non-Discrimination and Diversity Policy all reroute to the same “Commitment to Equal Opportunity” webpage.

Additionally, Hydar Ali’s title was changed from associate dean of faculty diversity and mentorship to associate dean for faculty development and mentorship.

Access to information about pipeline programs — which use the Dental School’s facilities and faculty to help underserved students get exposure to dentistry — is inconsistent. While the website for the Penn Residency Education Preparation and Support Programs was taken down, information about other pipeline programs is still available.

Despite the Dental School’s central DEI pages being scrapped in early February, some diversity-related content remains accessible. Information regarding the school’s Black History Month Celebration, which was previously visible on the original DEI page, is still available the website through a manual search. 

Additionally, donors can still contribute to the Penn Dental Medicine LGBTQ+ Fund, as well as the fund for the Care Center for Persons with Disabilities, on the school’s Give page.

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The Dental School’s 2025 fiscal year budget included a plan to recruit a new associate dean for diversity, equity, and inclusion. At the time of publication, the DP could not determine whether that plan has changed.

Stuart Weitzman School of Design

The DP previously reported on Feb. 6 that the Stuart Weitzman School of Design’s Inclusion and Belonging website was shut down. As of publication, the website titled “Building Community at Weitzman” is still active. 

Graduate School of Education

Penn’s Graduate School of Education scrubbed its website of references to DEI on Feb. 21, making it the last of Penn’s 12 graduate schools to do so in response to University policy changes and federal action. 

The previous webpage, which once read “Penn GSE’s Commitment to Diversity & Inclusion,” is now deactivated. 

Prior to its deactivation, the site contained demographic statistics reporting the race and gender of GSE faculty and staff. The webpage also included information about the “GSE Action Plan for Faculty Diversity,” the school’s plan to maintain diverse hiring practices. Since Feb. 21, this information is no longer available on the GSE website.

Descriptions of GSE’s commitment to fostering “understanding, inclusion, and respect” through a variety of initiatives have since been removed and replaced with a variety of events offered by GSE that further “belonging and respectful dialogue.” 

Raquel Arredondo, who previously served as the assistant dean for diversity, equity, and inclusion, is now listed in the faculty directory as the Assistant Dean of Climate and Community. 

University of Pennsylvania Carey Law School

The University of Pennsylvania Carey Law School’s “Equity & Inclusion” webpage was revised numerous times in the past two weeks. On Feb. 21, it was removed entirely from the website and now redirects users to an “Equal Opportunity” page. 

The previous webpage, which is now unavailable, read that Penn Carey Law was committed to “increasing the diversity of our legal profession by supporting access for members of communities that have been historically underrepresented.” The site also included demographic statistics about the diversity of Penn Carey Law's student body, and information about a range of programs and events that help foster “an inclusive and collegial culture.” 

The new webpage contains a brief three-sentence statement outlining Penn Carey Law’s commitment to “equal opportunity” and states that the school has initiated a review of its programs “to ensure that they are consistent with our values and the new federal government guidance and Executive Orders, federal, state, and local law.”

All previously existing programs are no longer listed on the webpage, including“Anti-Bias Programs” and “Dialogue Initiatives.” 

School of Social Policy & Practice

Prior to Feb. 19, the School of Social Policy & Practice's Inclusion webpage read that the school has an “intrinsic commitment to nondiscrimination; diverse backgrounds, experiences, and perspectives.” 

The revised webpage — now renamed to “Student Community” — reads “Community is more than just a commitment; it’s at the very core of SP2.” All references to DEI have been removed as of Feb. 19. Previously, a separate SP2 DEI website had included the term "inclusion" instead of the word "community."

Information about the school’s “Racism Sequence,” a “groundbreaking curriculum that explores institutionalized forms of racism and discrimination in America,” has been removed from the site along with information about a noncredit, asynchronous course titled “The Penn Experience: Racism, Reconciliation, and Engagement.” 

Perelman School of Medicine

On Feb. 16, the Perelman School of Medicine took down its “Inclusion and Diversity” page and replaced it with a page titled “Our Commitment to Equal Opportunity.” The old page featured multiple tabs highlighting events, a five-year plan to promote DEI, and testimonials from students and deans.

The new page scraps all mentions of DEI and consists of a three-sentence paragraph about the institution’s commitment to “providing a respectful and welcoming environment.”

School of Veterinary Medicine

On Feb. 12, the “Diversity at Penn Vet” website was shut down and now links to a new page that states that the site is under review to be “consistent with the new federal government guidance and Executive Order, federal, state, and local law, and our values.” 

The Faculty Affairs webpage for the School of Veterinary Medicine has also removed any mention of diversity after previously featuring a section highlighting diversity initiatives.

Editor's Note: This story has been updated to reflect that the Harris Family Alternative Investments Program dismantled a funding page, not the program itself.