The US State Department is poised to make a dramatic shift in its academic partnerships, moving to suspend dozens of prestigious universities from a key federal research programme over their diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) hiring policies.
Major Shake-Up in Academic Partnerships
According to an internal memo dated 17 November and obtained by the Guardian, the department recommends excluding 38 institutions from the Diplomacy Lab programme if they "openly engage in DEI hiring practices" or set DEI objectives for candidate pools. This suspension is slated to take effect on 1 January 2026.
The list of universities marked for removal reads like a who's who of American higher education, including elite institutions such as Harvard University, Yale University, Stanford University, Johns Hopkins University, Duke University, and the University of Southern California. Other notable schools facing suspension are American University, George Washington University, Syracuse University, and several University of California campuses.
What is the Diplomacy Lab?
Authorised in 2013, the Diplomacy Lab is a public-private partnership that pairs university researchers with State Department policy offices. It facilitates semester-long projects where academics tackle real-world foreign policy challenges. The programme provides invaluable, practical research experience for students and faculty while granting the State Department access to cutting-edge academic expertise and a pipeline of potential future recruits.
An accompanying colour-coded spreadsheet evaluated 75 universities on a four-point scale. Institutions demonstrating a "clear DEI hiring policy" were marked in red for suspension, while those with "merit-based hiring with no evidence of DEI" were marked in green, signifying they would maintain their partnerships.
Broader Political Context and Consequences
This proposed overhaul follows a near year-long campaign by the Trump administration against DEI initiatives in higher education. In January, the administration declared diversity programmes "illegal" and ordered federal agencies to compel universities receiving grants to certify compliance or risk losing funding.
Should the recommendations be approved, the academic network would be fundamentally remodelled. The suspended institutions would be replaced with new partners, which reportedly include Liberty University, Brigham Young University, and several schools in Missouri and Texas.
Interestingly, several universities recommended to remain in the programme, such as Columbia University and the University of Virginia, have already taken steps to align with the administration's stance. Columbia agreed in July to a settlement of over $200 million and pledged not to use protected characteristics in hiring, while the University of Virginia's president resigned under pressure from the justice department.
The internal memo further states that an office within the State Department's bureau of public affairs will update suitability criteria to "only include institutions with merit-based hiring practices," explicitly excluding those with DEI policies. Notification letters to affected institutions are pending final approval.
The State Department did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the matter.
