By Dawn Scotland
The Truth Reporter
Pastor Brandon A.A. J. Davis, the newly appointed senior pastor at Warren AME Church, held a meeting at Warren July 30, 2024 to address the dissolution of the vice president of DEI (Diversity Equity and Inclusion) position at the University of Toledo. The position was terminated in July at the university and the DEI department has been realigned under the office of the interim provost.
The University of Toledo issued a news story July 18 summarizing the changes this fall:
“….The Office of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion is being incorporated across the Division of Academic Affairs and will no longer be a separate team led by a vice president. Instead, the student focused initiatives, like the Multicultural Emerging Scholars Program and the Catharine Eberly Center for Women, will be aligned with student affairs operations. And the faculty and staff support services, such as trainings and campus resources, will be aligned with the academic operations and institutional effectiveness area of the Provost’s Office.
…“We are still finalizing components of the organizational chart this summer, but we are already finding alignments that we’re excited to have ready to go when students and faculty return in the fall,” [Scott] Molitor said.
(Source: news.utoledo.edu)
To those present in the community meeting there was outrage at the changes at the University.
“The way it sounds to the members of Warren and other people in the community is as if the department was gutted…” said Pastor Davis. “And within an infrastructure reorganized.”
As of July 26, there is currently no vice president of DEI at the University of Toledo. Those present raised concerns that the work of DEI cannot be adequately and effectively be continued under the new structure. They voiced that the changes are in light of the recent Supreme Court hearings that have removed race as a factor in academic admissions and are now being applied further.
“As a Methodist pastor we have a responsibility… we emphasize the mission of our church which is to engage the community and to meet people where they are. This is a serious issue not only in Toledo and Lucas County but across the country,” stated Davis.
“Millions of dollars that have been allocated for Diversity Equity and Inclusion has been redirected to other programing particularly at major nationally recognized institutions of higher education,” he added.
Speakers voiced that this indicates a snowball effect of state funded institutions applying Supreme Court case beyond its limits with no clear statement from the Supreme Court on the issue of race in scholarship and student life. They state that in 2023 the court ruled that race can no longer be a factor in admissions but now that is being applied to other areas at the university where minorities believe there is no justification or legal backing.
At the University of Toledo alone there have been hundreds of minority scholarships that have been frozen. A legal representative stated that half a million dollars in minority scholarships have been paused and not given out to students as intended. Individual donors have asked for the money from the University of Toledo and have not been given the money back.
Black families have left endowments for scholarships at The University of Toledo and cite that the institution is relying on a recent Letter from the Ohio Attorney General inferring that race cannot be applied to scholarships and other areas rather than a direct ruling from the Supreme Court.
WilliAnn Moore, who has a foundation in her name at the University of Toledo, shared her thoughts: “I don’t care what they infer, it becomes a legal issue with me because they are not going to infer what they do with my money,” she stated.
“I am saying that I want my money back because I can award it how I see fit as an independent donor to whichever student I feel needs that. I know we need more Black doctors and that’s what my foundation was established for and I’m not inferring anything else. I have never agreed to it. I asked them to send me something in writing and never received it.”
Moore, amongst other donors, is bringing legal action against the University of Toledo.
Black student organizations whose members had scholarships were also impacted and current students are concerned as to their status at the university and quality of student life.
“It’s time that we start standing up for what is right and until we start doing that, what just took place is going to continue to take place. The community should be involved in the efforts of making sure that the best for our students is being delivered,” said Rev. James H. Willis, Sr. senior pastor of St. Paul Missionary Baptist Church.
“We depend on students coming in from other areas. What kind of message is this going to send to get somebody to come to the University of Toledo?” he said.
Rev. Willis invites over 300 students annually during the summer to visit the University. “With what is happening now, next year I won’t be encouraging any of them to attend the university because [they’re] taking part of their rights away. Diversity and inclusion is what they need in order to hang their hat on,” he emphasized.
Concerns were raised amongst the leaders, community members, church members, legal representatives and parents about whether they would recommend the university, in its current state, to prospective students. The resounding answer was no.
The University of Toledo is open to conversations with the leaders on the recent changes. The Black leadership plans to meet with the University of Toledo soon to discuss these issues further. To speak with Rev. Brandon A. A. J. Davis or inquire further about this topic visit Warren AME Church at 915 Collingwood Blvd. or call the church at 419-243-2237.