This story was originally published by Mirror Indy.
By Claire Rafford
Mirror Indy
July 31, 2025
Butler University will no longer require students to take a class on social justice and diversity before graduating.
The university announced the decision in an email to the campus community July 24.
Administrators made the decision, in part, to protect Butler’s eligibility for federal and state funding including financial aid, according to the email obtained by Mirror Indy.
In a written statement, university spokesperson Mark Apple said social justice and diversity classes will still be offered even though the requirement has been suspended.
“This change is part of a broader review of programs to align with evolving legal guidance while upholding Butler’s mission of access, opportunity and inclusive education,” the statement read, in part.
The social justice and diversity requirement was part of Butler’s core curriculum, a series of courses students must take in addition to the classes required for their majors.
The social justice and diversity component was officially added for new Butler students in fall 2020 — though the new program was approved by faculty and university leadership in 2017. Students could choose from dozens of class options to fulfill the requirement, such as “Native American Cultures” and “Agriculture and Food Justice,” according to Butler’s website.
The university’s decision comes after Attorney General Todd Rokita sent a letter to Butler in late May asking the university to explain its diversity, equity and inclusion policies. Rokita sent similar letters to DePauw University and the University of Notre Dame.
In a July 28 social media post, Rokita said Butler’s actions were “a positive step in the right direction, but questions still remain.”
“We will continue seeking answers about Butler’s DEI practices,” Rokita wrote.
Beyond Rokita, Butler’s decision comes as American universities — public and private — face scrutiny from President Donald Trump’s administration about diversity, equity and inclusion policies. The Trump administration has targeted Harvard University in particular, and sent a letter to the university in April demanding that the school end all DEI programs.
Later that month, Butler President James Danko signed onto a letter with over 600 university presidents that criticized government overreach in higher education policy. Though the letter did not explicitly mention Trump, it alluded to actions the federal government was taking, such as adding conditions to public research funding.
At the time, Danko told Mirror Indy he felt it was important to speak out against what he saw as unfair government intervention in higher education.
“I think to not speak up — there’s no option, quite frankly,” Danko said in April.
The push to add a social justice and diversity requirement to the university’s required curriculum began over a decade ago.
When a group of professors began working in 2014 to address sexual assault on campus, the committee proposed adding a requirement that students take a class addressing issues of social justice and diversity.
“If you say you want to have a diverse campus,” said Terri Carney, the former social justice and diversity requirement director, “you have to provide programming that will keep (minority students) there.”
It took several years to develop classes and train professors. But when students began taking the courses, feedback was positive. Carney said her students repeatedly asked why they’d never learned about some of those topics before.
“I think a lot of people would prefer that we don’t have to deal with this because it is uncomfortable,” said Carney, who’s currently director of Butler’s race, gender and sexuality studies program. “But it’s not about individual intentions. It’s about recognizing a systemic and historic marginalization.”
Carney said she was disappointed but unsurprised to find out Butler was removing the social justice and diversity requirement. It upset her that the faculty senate, which is primarily responsible for curriculum, was not consulted.
In response to Carney’s statement, the Butler spokesperson said the university values faculty collaboration, but “there are times when immediate administrative action is required to protect the university’s operations and obligations.”
The former program director said she understands the university is in a difficult position, trying to preserve its funding. But, she said, now more than ever, Butler should stand by its values as a university founded by an abolitionist.
“What’s happening now is an absolute rollback of the Civil Rights Movement,” Carney said. “And if any institutions should be standing firm, it’s the ones that are founded by abolitionists.”
Apple reiterated that students will still be able to take classes that would have fulfilled the social justice requirement.
“We believe this approach allows us to remain compliant with current legal requirements while continuing to advance the spirit of intellectual inquiry, respect and inclusion that defines the Butler experience,” Apple’s emailed statement read, in part.
But Carney’s worried this is just the first step in bigger changes to Butler’s diversity, equity and inclusion policies.
“Today we’ll say we can still teach the classes and there’s no requirement, and tomorrow it’s going to be, ‘They all have to go,’” she said. “It’s going to keep going.”
Mirror Indy, a nonprofit newsroom, is funded through grants and donations from individuals, foundations and organizations.
Claire Rafford covers higher education for Mirror Indy in partnership with Open Campus. Contact Claire by email claire.rafford@mirrorindy.org, on most social media @clairerafford or on Signal 317-759-0429.
