(The Center Square) – Indiana University removed mention of a diversity, equity and inclusion-themed staff retreat from its website with no explanation as to why.
Put on by IU’s College of Arts and Sciences Office of Diversity and Inclusion, the third annual College Staff DEI Retreat was to be held on May 16, according to a now scrubbed event description webpage.
“Programming details to be announced shortly!” the description read.
Early last week, The Center Square asked both the College of Arts and Science Office of Diversity and Inclusion and IU executive director of media relations and public affairs Mark Bode what the school hoped to accomplish by the retreat and what will be discussed at it, receiving no response.
After discovering the event had been erased from IU’s website at some undetermined point after the initial inquiry, The Center Square reached out again to Bode and the diversity office asking if the retreat had been cancelled. No response has been received.
An internet archive from May 1 shows that the school planned the College Staff DEI Retreat for May 16.
An online form connected to the retreat is still up and running, which likewise verifies the event was once in existence
The form “invites proposals for presentations for the College’s 3rd Annual Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Staff Retreat, to be held on Friday, May 16, 2025.” The deadline for proposals was Jan. 31.
The second annual DEI Staff Retreat was held on Oct. 23, 2023, according to an IU news article, and was also hosted by the College of Arts and Sciences,
The 2023 retreat “was attended by hundreds of staff from across the College,” the article said.
“The retreat included several workshops and panel discussions throughout the day,” according to the article.
One panel concerned “faculty-staff interactions” and “discussed the importance of communication between faculty and staff in order to better understand each others’ roles and contributions to the research and education missions of the University,” the article said.
According to its website, IU’s College of Arts and Sciences “encompasses 70+ departments offering 225+ academic programs” within its core areas of study.
The core areas of study are Natural and Mathematical Sciences, Social and Historical Sciences, and Arts and Humanities.
The College of Arts and Sciences states on its website that it “values diversity, equity, and inclusion as core strengths and essential elements in the success of its educational mission.”
The Diversity and Inclusion webpage directs students, staff, and faculty to different pages of DEI resources.
