A National Roundup in Campus Reform Revisits AIM’s Biggest DEI Investigations
August 11, 2026
ROUNDUP: Trump admin cracks down on rampant DEI, administrators admit it still remains in place
Campus Reform | August 11, 2026, 10:14 am ET
After President Donald Trump was inaugurated in January 2025, his administration made it a top priority to rid higher education of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) and restore merit-based opportunities.
Yet, educators have repeatedly admitted during the 2025-26 academic year that DEI programs and curricula still remain in place, though the official name was changed.
Here are just a few examples covered by Campus Reform this academic year.
In an undercover video published by watchdog group Accuracy in Media (AIM), an administrator at Ohio State University (OSU) said that DEI course materials remain in place.
Assistant Dean of Academic Affairs Jennie Babcock said that despite Ohio Senate Bill 1—the state’s new anti-DEI law—course materials have not been affected.
“From a curriculum standpoint, there are no limitations in terms of what we teach,” she said, according to the video. “So we are teaching our curriculum, our courses, as we always have. We talk about bias and social justice.”
Karen Christopher, a sociology professor at the University of Louisville (UofL), was captured in an undercover video saying that the core curriculum has remained unchanged despite Kentucky’s new anti-DEI legislation.
“You’ll see on our website, like, diversity, inclusion, and equity is central to the field of sociology,” Christopher said. “It’s harder for them to come after curriculum because of academic freedom.”
“So in terms of the classes you would take, nothing would change,” she added.
H.B. 4 was signed into law in Kentucky in April 2025. The law prohibits taxpayer dollars from supporting DEI offices or initiatives.
3. Bowling Green State University
An official at Bowling Green State University (BGSU), which is also located in Ohio, told an undercover auditor that DEI is still pervasive in the curriculum.
“While we have been impacted to an extent by some of the political dynamics at the state level, I think the impact has been relatively minimal,” BGSU professor Adam Watkins said. “They have had to rename a few courses to align with certain expectations set by the state.”
AIM President Adam Guillette said that while Watkins’ comments were not surprising, they were outrageous.
“It’s clear that Ohio’s DEI ban isn’t worth the paper it’s printed on,” Guillette said.
A staff member who is also in charge of recruiting at Arizona State University (ASU) claimed that continued DEI initiatives exist at her school as well.
Veronica McDaniel said practices have not changed much, despite federal regulations.
“I know that the new legislation has asked us to eliminate it, but it’s in our hearts in education, so education has that just naturally,” she said.
AIM President Adam Guillette discussed this story with Campus Reform as well, saying that states across the country need to enact anti-DEI legislation that mirrors Florida’s approach. “Controversial topics should be discussed in their relevant courses but these employees should not be promoting radical political ideologies,” he argued.
While not involved in an undercover AIM video exposé, Moorpark College has proven that DEI still exists in higher education despite the Trump administration’s crackdown.
On March 10, the college hired an associate dean of diversity, equity, and inclusion. The base pay for the position is an estimated $106,000 to $142,000, based on the job’s salary level.
Trustees at the college reportedly engaged in a debate over whether hiring a new DEI administrator would violate President Trump’s anti-DEI executive order.
Campus Reform will continue covering the presence of DEI in higher education during the next academic year.