Confessions of a Former DEI Officer
Michael Yassa, a former DEI officer at UC Irvine, reflects on the performative nature of diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives. Following a surge in DEI offices after the murder of George Floyd, many institutions have since re-evaluated their DEI policies. Yassa argues for the need to reform DEI rather than eliminate it entirely, emphasizing the importance of genuine efforts in promoting diversity.
- ▪DEI initiatives in higher education expanded significantly after the murder of George Floyd in 2020.
- ▪Over 300 colleges and universities have since eliminated or altered their DEI requirements and offices.
- ▪Michael Yassa believes that while DEI efforts became performative, there is still a need for genuine diversity initiatives.
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| Original publisher | The Free Press (Substack) |
| Canonical URL | https://www.thefp.com/p/confessions-of-a-former-dei-officer |
| Publication time | Wed, 27 May 2026 18:06:52 GMT |
| Retrieval time | 2026-05-27T18:13:02.497Z |
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Playback speed×Share postShare post at current timeShare from 0:000:00/PreviewView all episodesConfessions of a Former DEI OfficerMay 27, 2026Maya Sulkin1HR 10MMichael Yassa led a DEI office at UC Irvine in 2020. Now he says it was all performative.Get NotifiedFor the last five years, if you walked onto almost any American college campus, you would have found an office and staff dedicated to diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI). DEI in higher education grew out of civil rights–era efforts in the 1960s and ’70s as a well-meaning attempt to recruit more diverse faculty and students—but the movement exploded after the murder of George Floyd in 2020.DEI officers at higher education institutions tripled after July 2020.
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