Kansas State department head refuses to remove DEI ‘until somebody physically makes me’
May 20, 2026
Universities in Kansas face federal bans, state bans, and university system policies against Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion — but none of this is stopping faculty in Kansas from keeping DEI indoctrination alive and well in their classrooms.
“I’m not gonna change it until somebody physically makes me,” said Don Kurtz, head of the Social Work department at Kansas State University.
Speaking on hidden camera to an Accuracy in Media undercover journalist, Kurtz boasted that his department still has classes such as “Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Social Practice” and “Race, Power, and Privilege.”
“I’m not doing their work for them when they try to change things,” Kurtz explained.
“I do think that there’s elements where we do still have to study people’s differences to be able to work with them. And I think we stick to our guns in those situations because it’s really important,” he added.
Kansas has put multiple measures in place to limit the destructive influence of this ideology. But clearly it’s not stopping people like Kurtz.
Last year, the state legislature banned DEI in state agencies, including public institutions of higher education like Kansas State University.
The Kansas Board of Regents issued its own directive to public universities in the state, instructing them to eliminate all positions, mandates, policies, programs, preferences, activities, and training relating to DEI. As part of this, employees were required to remove pronouns from their email signatures and business cards.
President Trump has issued his own executive orders banning the woke ideology from institutions that receive federal funding, which nearly all institutions rely on.
Some social work programs justify their continued DEI crusade by citing accreditation requirements from the Council on Social Work Education (CSWE).
According to a 2022 copy of CSWE’s standards for accreditation, programs must “Engage Anti-Racism, Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (ADEI) in Practice.” This is considered one of nine “core competencies.”
Several states have taken notice of how this loophole is being used to inject harmful ideology. Florida, Georgia, Texas, South Carolina, North Carolina, and Tennessee have all taken steps to establish their own accreditation bodies that don’t require DEI.
Kansas and other states need to follow similar steps to make sure taxpayers aren’t forced to fund woke requirements enshrined in accreditation standards.
Visit DEIInKansas.com where you can easily send one message to all relevant officials. Taxpayers shouldn’t be funding DEI while university faculty skirt the law.