(NewsNation) — The University of California said Wednesday it is doing away with a requirement that faculty applicants submit a diversity statement. The announcement comes after the Trump administration said it would revoke federal funds from schools with diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives.
Many departments at University of California campuses previously had prospective employees write testimonials about how they worked to support racial and other kinds of diversity in their fields, the Los Angeles Times reported.
The LA Times wrote that school officials announced the decision during a meeting at the University of California, Los Angeles.
In a letter to campus provosts, Katherine Newman, university provost and executive vice president for academic affairs, said that although requiring diversity statements will “no longer be permitted,” faculty candidates can still choose to “inclusive academic achievements in teaching, research, and service.”
“The regents stated that our values and commitment to our mission have not changed,” the letter said, according to the LA Times. “We can continue to effectively serve our communities from a variety of life experiences, backgrounds, and points of view without requiring diversity statements.”
Janet Reilly, chair of the university’s board of regents, said in a statement that the “values and commitment” to the system’s mission have not changed, the New York Times reported.
“We will continue to embrace and celebrate Californians from a variety of life experiences, backgrounds and points of view,” Reilly said.
Multiple current faculty members at the university said they believe President Donald Trump’s actions against diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives were a “significant factor” in the regents’ decision, the LA Times reported.
Brian Soucek, a law professor at UC Davis, told the newspaper, “There is nothing else that possibly motivates this change in general or this change being done in this particular way at the current moment.”
He said the statements are meant to “look for ways in which our specific fields may be falling short in producing scholarship that addresses the needs of a diverse public.”
During his second term, Trump has signed executive orders banning diversity practices across the federal government and educational institutions.
Last month, the Department of Education sent schools and colleges a letter warning of funding cuts for schools with diversity programs, according to NewsNation partner The Hill.
During Wednesday’s meeting of school officials, university president Michael Drake said the university system identified “three primary risks” to its federal funding.
These included the potential freezing or decreasing of federal contracts and grants; potential cuts to Medicare and Medicaid that would have “significant impacts on the UC Health enterprise” and its patients; as well as threats to the “university’s values.”
In addition, Drake said, the university is planning for a state budget cut of nearly 8% — or $396.6 million.
Drake said the university will soon implement a systemwide hiring freeze to help “manage its costs and conserve funds.”
The Associated Press contributed to this report.