“Challenging times” feels like a polite euphemism for our lived reality in higher ed. The narrative of institutional failure, attacks on college leadership, and the questionable value of a college education is further complicated by state policies that create vastly different circumstances across the country, particularly around programming, curriculum, and offices that support values of diversity, equity, and inclusion.
The Chronicle of Higher Education reports that 151 state bills have been introduced to stifle DEI programs in public colleges and universities, and 310 institutions have made changes to dismantle DEI initiatives since January 2023. Not all those institutions are in states with legislation that requires these changes, and some are private institutions, not beholden to state regulations.
These statistics show a coordinated effort to destabilize equity work, but fail to capture the personal experience of education professionals pushed out of jobs or the implications for students who rely on these programs to succeed in systemically biased systems. These personal stories show up in conversations with colleagues and LinkedIn posts that highlight what we don’t see in the news.
And yet, in the ongoing political and legal turmoil around higher education, there have been significant victories at the national level and through local action. Despite political attacks on diversity, equity, and inclusion, educators are sustaining this work through solidarity, shared values, and community spaces that allow them to support one another, such as Centers for Teaching and Learning. Regardless of the size of your center, your job description, your geographic location, or your surrounding political context, you can continue to do the essential work of creating learning environments that are welcoming to all students. And we can do this most effectively by working together.
As the Assistant Director of the Washington Center for Improving Undergraduate Education, I am part of a staff of three at a small institution. We facilitate educational development for a specialized faculty. We are also a public-service center with a 40-year history of supporting evidence-based, high-impact practices for the benefit of underrepresented students. I am privileged to work in a state and at a college where values of equity, inclusion, diversity, and belonging are supported and to be part of a public service center that can promote these values broadly. I am also keenly aware that my situation is different from educators in many other states.
On March 21, 2025, the day after an executive order was issued to dismantle the Department of Education, the Washington Center hosted a free virtual workshop titled “Rhetorical Grammar: Anti-racist Approaches to College Writing.” We had begun promoting it weeks earlier, just after Donald Trump’s second inauguration, unsure whether anyone would feel safe attending an event so openly grounded in anti-racist practice.
It was our most highly attended workshop of the year.
More than 80 educators from 13 states and Puerto Rico joined us, including participants from Utah, Missouri, Indiana, and Texas. Presenters Ansley Clark, Writing Center Director, and Carla Haddad, a writing peer tutor at The Evergreen State College, opened by sharing their own poetry, modeling how cultural identity can be woven into reflective writing. They encouraged the use of author statements to empower students to claim their cultural and linguistic identities. “Code-meshing” was introduced as an alternative to “code-switching,” offering students a strategy to challenge norms in academic settings while navigating disciplinary standards. Participants responded with thoughtful questions and conversation. I was moved by the community’s courage and commitment to supporting vulnerable students at a moment when such work was increasingly fraught.
Our center invites educators from diverse backgrounds and contexts into a space where they can share values that may not be welcome on their home campuses. We are a small center, but we are empowered by our community, and we are a space where coalitions can form, and educators can find refuge.
We need partnerships more than ever. We see the power of the people in large movements like the No Kings protests, but small actions also matter. We all have something to offer, and we can all reach out for the support we need.
I often think about those workshop attendees. Some I’ve seen again; others I may never meet. I hope they are still committed to inclusive teaching. I hope they are still employed. I hope they are finding support, courage, and community.
To all of you doing this work, wherever you are, you are not alone. Find your people. They are out there. They are right here.