George Washington University Changes Only the Name of its ‘Diversity Summit’

“still using explicit Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) principles”

Posted by Mike LaChance Saturday, April 4, 2026 at 09:00am 0 Comments

So many schools are doing this. They change the language, but everything else is the same. Professor Jacobson is quoted in this story.

Campus Reform reports:

GWU ‘diversity’ summit continues under new name

George Washington University in Washington, D.C. held its rebranded “Diversity Summit” last week while still using explicit Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) principles.

The university’s description for its “OneGW Summit: Community, Culture & Inclusion” states that the summit’s purpose is to “amplify and celebrate diversity, collectively foster inclusion, and strive toward equity.” The summit took place on March 26 and 27.

The university appeared to anticipate scrutiny under President Donald Trump’s January 2025 anti-DEI executive order. School officials delayed the summit twice, once in spring 2025 and once in fall 2025.

Campus Reform asked the university why it renamed the summit but did not receive a response before publication.

Equal Protection Project founder William A. Jacobson raised legal concerns about the diversity summit in comments made to Campus Reform.

“Schools are very concerned about conflicting with the Trump administration, which has issued executive orders hostile to Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion,” Jacobson wrote. “By avoiding that terminology schools hope to avoid scrutiny.”

Jacobson also argued that the university’s rebrand suggests that it may be attempting to hide its noncompliance with the federal government’s anti-DEI policies. President Trump’s order threatens loss of federal funding for universities that fail to comply.

“To the extent school practices may cross the legal line into civil rights violations, changing the terminology is an attempt to neutralize legal scrutiny,” Jacobson explained. “But if the program is lawful and in compliance with Department of Education policies, there would be no reason to rebrand and mask what the school is doing. This rebranding and masking reflects a possible consciousness of guilt.”