Political opposition to diversity, equity, and inclusion programs has been building for years, but something happened last October that felt like a turning point. In a deeply reported article for The New York Times Magazine, Nicholas Confessore cast doubt on the effectiveness of one of the nation’s best-funded DEI programs. Titled “The University of Michigan Doubled Down on DEI. What Went Wrong?,” Confessore’s article added fuel to a debate over whether DEI programs are meeting their stated goals or actually making campus climates worse. In an interview with College Matters, Confessore talks about his investigation, and what it meant for The Gray Lady to take a critical view of DEI.

Related Reading: 

• The University of Michigan Doubled Down on DEI. What Went Wrong? (The New York Times Magazine) 
• Where DEI Efforts Are Ambitious, Well Funded, and Taking Fire From All Sides (The Chronicle) 
• The Dismantling of DEI (The Chronicle) 
• Statement from Tabbye Chavous, vice provost for equity and inclusion and chief diversity officer at the University of Michigan

Guest: Nicholas Confessore, a political and investigative reporter at The New York Times and a staff writer at The New York Times Magazine.

For more on today’s episode, visit chronicle.com/collegematters. We aim to make transcripts available within a day of an episode’s publication.