Northeastern University is renaming programs and websites to remove language referring to diversity, equity and inclusion and replace it with “belonging.”
The website for its Office of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion has been replaced by a more general webpage called “Belonging at Northeastern.” The page diversity.northeastern.edu now re-directs to the “Belonging” page.
The change was first reported by The Huntington News, the independent student newspaper. According to The Huntington News, the “diversity” page was active as recently as Jan. 24. The office’s Instagram and X account names also changed.
The new website cites a “reimagined approach” and says that “our university is stronger as a result of the varied backgrounds, experiences, and perspectives that all members of our global community bring to the pursuit of knowledge.” Yet, the page does not directly mention diversity or race and only links to a list of staff and faculty-led affinity groups.
Several of the diversity pages of individual schools, including for the Khoury College of Computer Sciences , D’Amore-McKim School of Business , College of Social Sciences and Humanities and the Northeastern University School of Law, are broken or have been altered.
The changes at Northeastern come after a Jan. 21 executive order issued by President Donald Trump, which sought to remove DEI programs in the federal government, as well as to investigate DEI programs in the private sector including ”institutions of higher education with endowments over 1 billion dollars.”
The executive order criticizes DEI programs across many swaths of American society including higher education, which “have adopted and actively use dangerous, demeaning, and immoral race- and sex-based preferences under the guise of so-called 'diversity, equity, and inclusion’ (DEI).”
It wasn’t immediately clear how Northeastern’s policies themselves are changing or whether the revisions are just about language.
“Northeastern’s commitment to embracing our entire global community remains steadfast. While internal structures and approaches may need to be adjusted, the university’s core values don’t change,” Renata Nyul, vice president for communications, said in a statement. “We believe that embracing our differences — and building a community of belonging — makes Northeastern stronger.”
Some students say they are disappointed — but not surprised — by the university’s actions, and frustrated by the lack of direct communication to students.
Zoe Goffe, a senior at Northeastern studying politics, philosophy and economics, said that students are worried.
“I understand just from the legal realm, they don’t want to lose federal funding, but I mean, Northeastern is a very wealthy and private institution,” Goffe said. “I understand it’s just the website, but I think it’s just indicative of shifting attitudes not only in politics, but clearly we’re getting signals from our own university that they have shifting priorities.”
Goffe said that when she entered Northeastern in 2021 following the Black Lives Matter protests, she was glad to see that the university was putting effort behind diversity and supporting students of color like herself. She says that her class had one of the highest Black populations in the university’s history. But that enrollment has declined , and she said the mission has been unclear since affirmative action on college campuses was reversed by the Supreme Court in 2023.
Goffe says that the DEI changes, as well as major changes to immigration policy at the federal level, has created concerns for students, and she wishes the university would reassure them.
“I think the university should make a statement saying that we understand that our students are scared right now and we are willing to help and work with you guys through this administration instead of just kowtowing to it,” she said.
