UPDATE, April 15, 6:23 p.m.: Following the April 17 Board of Trustees meeting, the Office of Inclusive Excellence has closed.
Confirmed by university spokesperson Greg Fallon, "The work of the Office of Inclusive Excellence has concluded, and the Office of Inclusive Excellence is now closed. Some of the staff in the Office of Inclusive Excellence will now provide support to a new Office of Strategic Planning Support."
The Office of Inclusive Excellence's website now redirects viewers to "The Office of Strategic Plan Support." The social media pages for the Office of Inclusive Excellence have been deleted.
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Ball State University’s Board of Trustees held a special public meeting April 17 in the university’s L.A. Pittenger Student Center Forum Room.
The meeting, consisting of one agenda item presented by Anand Marri, provost and executive vice president for academic affairs, outlined linguistic revisions to the university’s “Freedom of Expression” statement and the 2012 value statement.
“The proposed resolution will officially terminate any university diversity, equity and inclusion program that violates any applicable law,” Marri said.
The changes, Marri said, come in response to President Donald Trump’s executive order 14173, with a April 21, 2025, compliance deadline, a February 2025 “Dear Colleague” letter issued by the Department of Education, and "joint guidance issued by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission and the Department of Justice.”
“[Ball State’s Board of Trustees] believe these actions will serve to clearly demonstrate our commitment to compliance and will give President Mearns the necessary authority to take any additional steps that may be necessary in the future,” Marri said.
Ball State University President Geoffrey Mearns expressed approval of the proposed changes.
“[Ball State’s Board of Trustees] have consistently aligned with our politics and practices with the directives from the administration,” Mearns said.
Mearns’ sentiments were echoed by Board Chair Rick Hall.
The motion was unanimously approved in under 10 minutes, with an email sent by President Mearns to the entire student body immediately following the adjournment of the meeting.
The email included a brief video, which Mearns said via email is his "firm conviction that we will continue to honor the fundamental promise that we make to every student: that we will provide every student with the individualized support the student needs in order to graduate and to be prepared to have a fulfilling career and a meaningful life."
What were the changes?
Linguistic revisions to the university’s “Freedom of Expression” statement and the 2012 value statement. The Ball State Daily News received documents of the proposed and upcoming changes.
The "Freedom of Expression Statement"
A new clause was added to the statement that reads in its current version, "While Ball State is committed to each individuals right to speak, the University itself does not typically take a public stance on political, oral, or idealogical issues. Our University takes positions on such issues only when they affect our core mission or our commitment to free inquiry, free expression, and intellectual diversity long serving as the bedrock foundation of higher education and the purist of knowledge."
Clause 1.1 organically read, "Our University endeavors to maintain a culture and community that will inspire our members to pursue knowledge with rigor and curiosity, to speak with care, and work so that the even the quietest or most under represented voices among us are heard.”
The new proposed changes of 1.1 will now read, "Our University endeavors to maintain a culture and community that will inspire our members to pursue knowledge with rigor and curiosity, to speak with care, and work so that the perspectives of all people are heard.”
Clause 1.7 originally read "Ball State’s commitment to freedom of expression comports with our commitment to inclusive excellence, which encompasses encouraging and rewarding diversity of thought, innovation, and creativity. We define inclusiveness, one of our University’s enduring values, as a commitment “to respect and embrace equity, inclusion, and diversity in people, ideas, and opinions.” As members of the Ball State University community, we will provide opportunities for all to express their opinions. It is our hope that, as we engage in free expression, we will learn to be comfortable in the dissidence that opposing views can often evoke. Freedom of expression is a powerful tool for testing ideas, for learning, and for growth. We pledge to keep inclusive excellence at the highest level of institutional importance and as a foundation in all that we do.”
1.7, which will now become 1.8, now reads, "Ball State’s commitment to freedom of expression comports with our commitment to encouraging and rewarding diversity of thought, innovation, and creativity. As members of the Ball State University community, we will provide opportunities for all people to express their opinions. It is our hope that, as we engage in free expression, we will learn to be comfortable in the dissidence that opposing views can often evoke. Freedom of expression is a powerful tool for testing ideas, for learning, and for growth. We pledge to keep inclusive excellence at the highest level of institutional importance and as a foundation in all that we do.”
The 2012 Values Statement
Changes and removals to the current Values Statement found within the 2012 Mission Statement will be replaced with new language to be completed when the “next Strategic Plan” is completed.
Multiple phrases were removed and altered, including the title. What was once "University Statement on the Importance of Diversity and Inclusion" is now "University Statement on the Importance of Inclusiveness."
The statement originally started, “Ball State University aspires to be a university that attracts and retains a diverse faculty, staff and student body." It was changed to remove the phrase "diverse" and now will say, "Ball State University aspires to be a university that attracts and retains outstanding faculty, staff and students.”
The statement originally said, “We strive to ensure that our student are prepared to engage and succeed in increasingly diverse environments. Our recruitment efforts will continue to include historically underrepresented populations to create the cultural milieu that promotes participation by all” It will now say, “We strive to ensure that our student are prepared to engage and succeed in the world in which they will work and live."
The statement originally said, “We are committed to the pursuit of excellence by being inclusive of individuals without regard to race, religion, color, sex (except where sex is a bona fide qualification), sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, physical or mental disability, national origin, ancestry, or age. Ball State will be a lace recognized for its positive climate -- one where all stakeholders know that their contributions to the mission of the university are essential to our success."
It will now say, “We are committed to the pursuit of institutional excellence by welcoming all people. Ball State will be a lace recognized for its positive climate -- one where all stakeholders know that their contributions to the mission of the university are essential to our success."
This brief will be updated with more information as it becomes available.
Contact the Daily News via email at editor@bsudailynews.com.
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