Editor’s Note: This is a developing story. We will provide new updates as they arrive.
The Institute has removed web pages relating to Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) initiatives, with Institute Communications confirming efforts to “update [Tech’s] web presence.”
Students and faculty became widely aware of the changes after a communications officer in the School of Interactive Computing (IC) sent an email to IC faculty, staff, Ph.D., and Master’s students on Thursday morning saying that he had been directed to delete all content from Tech-affiliated sites using certain words “in the context of DEI.”
Just over an hour later, the chair of the IC school met with College of Computing Dean Vivek Sarkar, who was not initially on the email chain, asking him to address the situation.
By early afternoon, Sarkar sent an email to the same group stating that the communications officer’s message — which Sarkar called an “unfortunate incident” — contained “misinformation and was not approved by the school chair or anyone in college leadership.”
“I will follow up to learn more about how this occurred, but I want to assure you that our College and the Institute remain steadfast in our commitment to academic freedom,” he wrote. Sarkar told the Technique that the communications officer’s claim that personal pages, project pages, and lab information pages using DEI language must be taken down is false.
Following Sarkar’s correction, an IC professor sent a follow-up email. “For the record, we are all freaking out,” he wrote. The professor said that the Center for Promoting Inclusion and Equity in the Sciences (C-PIES) website was down, which seemed to corroborate the initial email’s directive. The C-PIES website is still unavailable at the time of writing.
Sarkar replied, saying that “no communications officer in any school was instructed to send out any such email” and “no faculty member needs to take any action that was asked for in the email.” He emphasized again that the initial email contained misinformation, and he would like to schedule a town hall to discuss the incident.
The Technique has verified the authenticity of the emails in the chain.
“I have a lot to learn about what exactly happened,” Sarkar told the Technique on Friday. “I’m not saying that everything in the email was inaccurate, and I’m still doing the homework to figure out which aspects were inaccurate.”
Sarkar confirmed that his communications director did receive some guidance from Institute Communications pertaining to the changes, but he is still working to find exactly who — if anyone — directed IC communications to send the initial notice. The decision was made without Sarkar’s involvement.
Institute Communications confirmed that changes to Tech’s websites have been made.
“In 2023, Georgia Tech made the decision to begin discontinuing DEI programs, which included eliminating positions and realigning funding. As a critical research partner for the federal government, Georgia Tech will ensure compliance with all federal and state rules as well as policies set by the Board of Regents of the University System of Georgia to continue accelerating American innovation and competitiveness,” Vice President of Institute Communications Abbigail Tumpey said in a statement to the Technique. “Efforts to examine and update our web presence are part of this ongoing work.”
Several Tech websites have gone inactive, including news stories like a 2023 article about Tech’s approach to DEI that was last confirmed to be live in October 2024. DEI pages for the School of Industrial Engineering (ISyE), Ivan Allen College of Liberal Arts, Athletic Department, and other Tech departments either display an error message or redirect to the respective department’s home page.
The ISyE DEI page was last live in mid-January, and multiple research centers and programs related to the subject have been altered or completely removed from the ISyE website. Their DEI Fellows Program has been renamed the “Fellows Program,” modifying the initiative’s mission from “increasing the diversity of the ISyE faculty, staff, and student body” to “increasing exposure of the ISyE faculty, staff, and student body.” Also, the ISyE Center For Academics, Success, and Equity (CASE) recently replaced “Equity” with “Engagement.”
As of November 2024, the University System of Georgia (USG) has also adopted new language regarding DEI policies, stating, “All admissions processes and decisions shall be free of ideological tests, affirmations, and oaths, including diversity statements. No applicant for admission shall be asked to or required to affirmatively ascribe to or opine about political beliefs, affiliations, ideals, or principles, as a condition for admission.”
Nationally, President Donald Trump issued an executive order on Jan. 20 removing DEI programs from the federal government. The White House has ordered the removal of federal DEI positions, and other institutions and universities have also quietly removed online content related to DEI. Northeastern University renamed its Office of DEI to the Office of Belonging at Northeastern.
The IC communications officer’s reason for sending the initial email to Tech faculty and students remains unclear.
“I’m really proud of all the research that our college has done in the past related to equity, inclusion, justice — all these things,” Sakar said. “[The IC communications email] has caused hurt in our community, and I think it’s important to repair that.”