Eastern Washington University has decided to terminate the contract for the Office of Diversity & Inclusion as a result of the reorganization on March 6, 2020 and consolidate the diverse programs. The EWU Office of Diversity & Inclusion created in 2017, was demanded by students at Eastern Washington University for the past 17 years.

Weーthe Multicultural Coalition of Eastern Washington University, and our allies among faculty, staff, administration, and the communityーfought to establish the Office of Diversity and Inclusion, the Vice President of Diversity position, and a Multicultural Center in the face of administrative resistance and outright opposition. Since then, we have worked tirelessly to demonstrate the positive impact these additions bring to Eastern Washington University. We understand that each student at Eastern Washington University will greatly benefit from these programs.

Now, the administration has passed to consolidate the diverse programs, (Africana Studies, Chicanx Studies, Native Studies, and Women & Gender studies) in order to cut back on budgeting. Students Protest Against Consolidating Education (S.P.A.C.E) believes that consolidating diversity departments will have a negative impact on the progress Eastern Washington University has made towards their eponymous goals.

S.P.A.C.E. needs your help today! The students of Eastern Washington University are asking for the administration to reverse this action, and grant each director of the diverse programs a memorandum of understanding to be recognized as department chairs. This will allow them to keep their autonomy over their staff, faculty, curriculum and budget. Any other way, it will create long-lasting damage to the students of marginalized and/or underrepresented communities whom Eastern has promised them a commitment to diversity. Additionally, future students will lose valuable academic opportunities that contribute to our educational community if plans to consolidate these different programs were finalized.

Furthermore, the student body wants to keep diversity departments separate to reinforce the retention and recruitment of diverse faculty and staff. Different marginalized and/or underrepresented communities have different needs. Consolidating the diverse programs under one faculty member will homogenize the approach to cultural learning. Homogenizing all marginalized and/or underrepresented communities delegitimize the differences in contributions, struggles, current needs, and histories which gave rise to the creation of separate diverse programs. Consolidation must necessarily involve decreasing budgets, resulting in fewer faculty and staff positions of marginalized backgrounds, the loss of the innovative growth they bring, and pitting marginalized and/or underrepresented communities against one another in a scramble for resources. The departments need autonomy to focus on distinct, empowering futures. We do not agree with the decision to combine them.

At this critical moment, we need you to join us. Support and protect the autonomy of our diverse directors of current and potential future direct before May 29. Sign and defend EWU Diverse Programs now!

Click here to join us today in demanding that President Mary Cullinan, EWU Board of Trustee, EWU Administration, and Faculty Organization, grant Diverse Program Directors a memorandum of understanding to become Department Chairs.