Key points:
- Higher education must embed community voices into strategic planning and institutional policy
- The urgency of now: Fighting back against the destruction of public institutions
- Trump administration launches civil rights investigation into schools
- For more news on diversity and policy, visit eCN’s Campus Leadership hub
As the foundations of higher education are increasingly shaken by political retrenchment, the imperative for institutions to meaningfully partner with marginalized communities has never been more urgent. Recent developments–including the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision to dismantle affirmative action, proposed reductions in student loan forgiveness, and efforts by the Trump-aligned Project 2025 to restructure the U.S. Department of Education–signal a sharp departure from inclusive, equity-oriented policymaking. In this climate, universities must move beyond compliance frameworks and collaborate directly with the communities they aim to serve, transforming campus culture from within.
The question posed by a graduate seminar colleague, “How can institutions partner with marginalized communities to co-create solutions that go beyond compliance and truly transform campus culture?” captures the ethical and strategic crossroads at which higher education now stands. To meet this challenge, institutions must engage in sustained partnerships with historically excluded populations, shifting from symbolic diversity efforts to genuine institutional transformation.
From policy to partnership
The limitations of compliance-based diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) strategies have long been critiqued by scholars like Sara Ahmed, who argues in On Being Included that diversity often becomes a bureaucratic gesture rather than a mechanism for change. Similarly, campus climate researchers Shaun Harper and Sylvia Hurtado have called for deeper institutional accountability and racially inclusive policy reform.
What is needed now is a move from transactional inclusion–offering access without power–to relational transformation. Institutions must implement community advisory boards, co-governance models, and participatory research structures that elevate local knowledge. Initiatives at Arizona State University and Portland State University demonstrate how such partnerships can produce co-designed curricula and shared outcomes with urban and Indigenous communities.
Navigating retrenchment and political pushback
The backlash against DEI is intensifying across multiple states, where legislation has sought to dismantle DEI offices and restrict race-conscious hiring. At least a dozen state legislatures have advanced such efforts. These actions not only roll back hard-won equity efforts–they threaten institutional autonomy and public trust.
The situation is compounded by the education platform proposed in Mandate for Leadership, the policy blueprint underpinning Project 2025. This document envisions the reduction of Title III funding, elimination of the Office for Civil Rights in education, and broad deregulation of federal oversight. If implemented, these shifts would severely undercut resources for first-generation, low-income, and disabled students already struggling with inconsistent institutional support.
In response, colleges and universities must step into a leadership void by investing in sustainable, localized partnerships. Models such as community co-design councils and faculty fellowships for equity-centered research reflect not just institutional innovation, but a recommitment to democratic purpose.
The role of AI in expanding access
AI, when applied ethically, can help institutions expand access for marginalized students. Platforms can provide tailored learning pathways, assist with language translation, and flag early academic risks. Programs like Georgia State University’s Panther Retention Grants exemplify how predictive analytics can be used to close equity gaps.
Yet scholars such as Ruha Benjamin caution against overreliance on AI. In Race After Technology, Benjamin warns that unregulated systems can reinforce rather than reduce inequality. To address this, institutions must include marginalized communities in the design and testing of AI tools. Participatory frameworks–often used in public interest technology–offer pathways for inclusive innovation.
Looking ahead: Co-creation as imperative
This political moment demands not just resilience but reimagination. As federal support for higher education contracts and DEI programs face ideological scrutiny, universities must invest in community-rooted governance models. For example, eight universities in California are demonstrating how anchor institution strategies can align institutional resources with local empowerment, through housing partnerships, workforce development, and culturally responsive curricula.
By embedding community voices into strategic planning and institutional policy, higher education can move beyond performative compliance and toward genuine transformation. This is not merely a moral imperative; it is a strategic necessity for the long-term relevance and public legitimacy of the sector.
