Penn's Gender, Sexuality, and Women’s Studies program restated its commitment to diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility in a statement to The Daily Pennsylvanian.
GSWS Program Director Jessa Lingel wrote in the statement that the program would not be scrubbing its website of DEI mentions — as all 12 of Penn's undergraduate and graduate schools have done — despite calls from University administrators to do so. Lingel reiterated that the program's "relationship to inclusivity, diversity, equity and accessibility is central to what we do."
A request for comment was left with a University spokesperson.
The program’s website currently displays a message stating that it is “under construction" and urges users to “stay tuned for more details." However, Lingel clarified that the construction banner has been “up for months” and is not related to University-wide rollbacks of DEI policies, programs, and initiatives.
“[The banner] has nothing to do with any recent DEI efforts,” Lingel wrote. “We have received requests from administrators to remove language from our website related to our program and center’s commitment to DEIA.”
Lingel previously expressed concerns to the DP about Penn’s commitment to funding and supporting DEI-related research and initiatives, adding that the Program for Gender, Sexuality, and Women’s Studies and DEI “cannot be separated."
"It's central to our field, to our collective approach to pedagogy and the research by our students, faculty and staff," Lingel wrote. "We see it as a matter of academic freedom to continue describing our work with those terms, which are not illegal, at least not yet."
President and 1968 Wharton graduate Donald Trump signed an executive order on Jan. 20 requiring universities that receive federal funding, including Penn, to terminate any DEI programs that could be in violation of federal civil rights laws.
Since then, Penn has quietly enacted changes across its schools and centers, including renaming the Wharton School's DEI major and concentration and altering staff positions and titles.
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