On January 24, 2025, Rutgers University called off a symposium aimed at educating students about apprenticeships at historically Black institutions and universities. According to the Rutgers Center for Minority Serving Institutions, it was requested to stop all the work it was doing under the U.S. Department of Labor-funded Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Accessibility HUB at Jobs for the Future.
According to a university spokeswoman, recent acts by President Donald Trump during his first week in office had a direct impact on the decision.
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In response to the ruling, the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) wrote on its website, “President Trump’s administration enacted three executive orders targeting diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility (DEIA) initiatives that take a ‘shock and awe’ approach that upends longstanding, bipartisan federal policy meant to open doors that had been unfairly closed.”
According to the ACLU, during his first days in office, the president used civil rights laws—which prohibit discrimination and guarantee that everyone has an equal opportunity to compete for a job, a promotion, or an education—as a weapon.
Jersey City Mayor Steve Fulop and Newark Mayor Ras Baraka both criticized the university’s decision on X, previously Twitter. This year, Baraka and Fulop are both vying for the governorship of New Jersey.
According to a statement sent to Rutgers University students, the executive orders that instructed federal agencies to terminate federal contracts and grants related to Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) prevented most panelists from Jobs for the Future from participating in the virtual conference, which was set for January 30.
The U.S. Department of Education’s Intergovernmental Relations Coordinator, Tammi Ferguson, was anticipated to be a panelist at the event.
The Center for Minority Serving Institutions at Rutgers University pledged to keep interacting with students through other initiatives.
Recently, the American Association of University Professors indicated on X, the original name for Twitter, “The capitulation continues. These ill-conceived moves are pushing American higher education backward. We must fight back.”
