VUMC President and Chief Executive Officer Jeff Balser shared a video message with VUMC affiliates on Feb. 12 addressing the impact of recent federal executive orders on operations. The message comes following VUMC’s decision to scrub its websites and social media of all diversity, equity and inclusion-related language.
The Hustler identified inconsistencies in this statement and recent actions taken by Vanderbilt and VUMC compared to independently verified information.
“There is an executive order that states clearly that institutions receiving federal funds can no longer have DEI programs.”
This is untrue.
The Jan. 20 executive order calling for “Ending Radical and Wasteful Government DEI Programs and Preferences” states that federal personnel will coordinate the termination of all diversity, equity, inclusion and accessibility mandates, policies, programs, preferences and activities in federal agencies, departments and commissions within 60 days. Both Vanderbilt and VUMC are private institutions that receive federal funding, not federal agencies or departments.
The Jan. 21 order calling for “Ending Illegal Discrimination and Restoring Merit-Based Opportunity” claims that universities’ “race- and sex-based preferences under the guise of so-called DEIA” may violate U.S. civil rights laws. It instructs all federal agencies to “identify up to nine potential civil compliance investigations” of entities, including “institutions of higher education with endowments over one billion dollars.” Vanderbilt’s endowment stands at $10.2 billion as of June 2024, subjecting it to potential investigation. VUMC’s liabilities and net assets totaled $5.89 billion in 2023.
Of note, this order is directed at federal oversight personnel to ensure non-discriminatory hiring and admissions practices and compliance with federal civil rights laws among private institutions. Therefore, the order does not require the cessation of all DEI programs, but instead only those it interprets as “constituting illegal discrimination or preferences” in hiring and admissions.
The Jan. 21 order further includes the caveat that it does not prevent federal contractors or federally-funded institutions of higher education from “engaging in First Amendment-protected speech” nor their faculty from “advocating for, endorsing or promoting” DEI and DEIA policies in employment and contracting. There is no evidence to suggest that DEIA terminology falls outside the scope of constitutionally protected speech.
“These orders set out new requirements for health care systems like ours to receive federal funding, including Medicare, TennCare, [the National Institutes of Health] and others.”
This is untrue. As private, federally funded institutions, Vanderbilt and VUMC are not yet required to take any action.
If both institutions interpret their statuses as federal contractors or subcontractors, then the Jan. 20 order instructs all federal agencies to terminate “DEIA performance requirements” for contractors and provide the Director of the Office of Management and Budget a list of contractors who have provided DEI training to federal employees.
Similarly, the Jan. 21 order instructs the Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs to no longer hold contractors responsible for affirmative action or race and gender-based “workforce balancing.” Within contracts, parties must certify that they do not “operate any programs promoting DEI that violate any applicable federal anti-discrimination laws.”
The OMB, not individual contractors, must remove references to DEIA from its “acquisition, contracting, grants and financial assistance procedures.”
Nowhere in the executive orders are DEIA-related terms specifically listed. The phrases VUMC removed from its websites and social media — spanning from “climate change” to “equal access to health care” — were decided by the institution itself.
“There have been several executive orders from the White House that impact our day-to-day operations.”
This is true. Specifically, these orders will impact Vanderbilt and VUMC researchers whose work relates to DEIA, including health equity and disparities. Any references to DEIA principles in grants will be removed, and all DEIA-related grants and contracts will be terminated by March 21.
“Among the many executive orders that have been issued, another one that could directly impact us was just announced on Friday, [Feb. 7], reducing support from NIH research grants.”
This is true. The NIH announced additional funding cuts for “indirect costs” on Feb. 7, which would cap reimbursement for costs related to facilities and administration at 15%. VUMC previously negotiated its indirect cost rates at values ranging from 75% for on-campus research to 54-56% for off-campus research from July 2021 through June 2023.
Vanderbilt and VUMC jointly received $589 million in NIH funding in 2024. A five-fold reduction in indirect cost reimbursement would endanger approximately $71 million and $19 million in biomedical research funding for VUMC and Vanderbilt, respectively.
What is the current status of these executive orders?
The Jan. 20 and 21 executive orders are still in effect, as of publication. However, on Feb. 3, a coalition consisting of the National Association of Diversity Officers in Higher Education, American Association of University Professors, Restaurant Opportunities Centers United and the Mayor and City Council of Baltimore filed a lawsuit in the U.S. District Court in Maryland alleging the orders are “vague and unconstitutional.”
The Feb. 7 announcement regarding NIH funding was temporarily blocked by a judge on Feb. 11 following lawsuits filed by 22 states — excluding Tennessee — and the Association of American Medical Colleges.
What actions have other institutions taken?
Trump’s executive orders regarding DEI have prompted some universities and medical institutions across the nation to preemptively change their policies and scrub websites. According to the Chronicle of Higher Education — which has been tracking changes in DEI policies since January 2023 — over 250 colleges have made changes in response to anti-DEI legislation.
The University of Colorado system has removed its main webpage for DEI, and Northeastern University scrubbed all language related to DEI from websites at the end of January. The University of North Carolina system said its 16 schools would no longer be required to mandate students take DEI courses to graduate.
Other universities have chosen to wait for more clarity regarding the legal status of these executive orders before making any changes. Princeton University President Christopher Eisgruber encouraged the university to “keep calm and carry on” and said the administration would focus on long-term issues rather than update the community in response to each executive order. Duke University directed its community to “refrain from making significant changes” until administration can evaluate the executive orders further, and university websites pertaining to DEI remain active.
