Nebraska governor vows to eliminate DEI from public universities 

Nebraska Gov. Jim Pillen says he wants to fully remove diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) programs from the state’s public colleges and universities, calling the ideology harmful to students and out of step with Nebraska values. 

Pillen pledged this during his State of the State address to lawmakers earlier this month, where he outlined his priorities for the year.

During his remarks, Pillen criticized DEI initiatives and what he described as “pronoun culture” on college campuses. He warned Nebraska’s public universities risk copying elite coastal schools that prioritize ideological trends over academic rigor. 

“We are Nebraska, not a woke ivory tower on the coast. How destructive would it be if our great University of Nebraska followed the same path that so-called elite coastal schools have, embracing pronoun culture, DEI discrimination,” Pillen said, according to Campus Reform. 

The governor’s comments follow a series of policy changes already made by Nebraska universities in response to federal restrictions on DEI adopted last year. 

In May, the University of Nebraska Board of Regents removed DEI and affirmative action language from its governing policies after President Donald Trump issued an executive order earlier in the year targeting such programs. The board also revised its anti-discrimination statement to remove references to specific identity groups by race and gender. 

Even after those policy changes, some DEI-related structures remain in place. The University of Nebraska-Lincoln continues to maintain online listings for diversity offices and related resources, including an Office of Diversity and Inclusion and an LGBTQA+ Center. Pillen’s remarks suggest the school may face additional pressure to dismantle those programs.

Pillen also used his address to push for expanded funding for school choice programs.

Conservatives have increasingly supported school choice as a way to give parents greater say over their children’s education while reducing the influence of liberal bureaucracies. The governor framed school choice as an alternative to institutions imposing ideological agendas on students. 

Federal scrutiny has also shaped recent developments in Nebraska’s higher education, drawing attention from both state officials and outside watchdog groups.

In July, the Equal Protection Project filed a civil rights complaint against the University of Nebraska Omaha over scholarships that allegedly favored illegal immigrants over Americans. The school later removed the eligibility language from its website and eliminated the scholarship.