$66 million in 32 grants.
This is the amount of federal grant funding the University of Illinois receives that was targeted as diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) in a database compiled by the staff of Republican Senator Ted Cruz, a close ally of President Donald Trump in Congress.
The database was released by the U.S. Senate Commerce Commission, of which Cruz is the chairman, in October 2024 under the Biden administration and includes over 3,400 grants from the National Science Foundation (NSF). Cruz’s list aligns with Trump’s broader ideological agenda — in an executive order on Jan. 20, Trump ordered the termination of “radical and wasteful government DEI programs and preferencing.”
The grants were targeted by Cruz for belonging in one or more of five committee-defined categories:
- Status, or “grants that described persons based on their membership in a population deemed underrepresented, underserved, socioeconomically disadvantaged, or excluded”
- Social justice, or “grants (prioritizing) inclusivity over scientific advancements and achievements”
- Gender, defined as presenting “far-left ideological theories about men, women, and other identities”
- Race in the form of “programs aimed at addressing ‘racial inequity and White Supremacy’”
- Environmental justice, or grants requiring environmental sciences “investigated through the lens of left-wing social activism”
All but two of the grants were categorized under status and were typically included in one or two other categories. The social justice category included 18 grants, the race category included 7 grants, the gender category included 6 grants and 4 grants fell under environmental justice.
The 32 grants awarded to the university include projects ranging from broadening participation in engineering and research to insect flight to cryptographic key generation. And though most funds in these grants have already been allocated, flagging research initiatives, often based on semantics, reflects a larger trend of government scrutiny befalling higher education.
The administration has used federal funds as political leverage against universities or institutions deemed insubordinate.
The Department of Education released the Dear Colleague letter on Feb. 14, which directed schools to stop using race, color and national origin for admission or for any other considerations. The department said it would enforce compliance by the end of February through the withholding of funding.
These actions have prompted some schools to eliminate their DEI programs. For example, the University of Michigan and Ohio State University have both closed DEI-related offices, with the latter also facing anti-DEI pressure from tRepublican-led Ohio legislature. The University of Illinois DEI office remains open.
Harvard, which refused to comply with Trump’s list of demands to the college, is now threatened with the loss of $2.2 billion in grants and the revocation of their 501(c)(3) tax-exempt status. In response, the Ivy League sued the government for allegedly violating their constitutional rights by freezing funds.
The University of Illinois’ administration has remained cautious whilst continuing to reiterate the institution’s values.
“We remain fully committed to programs and strategies that value diverse perspectives, ideas and lived experiences and adhere to our commitment as a public university to expand access, opportunity and academic excellence,” a federal update email sent to the campus community on April 3 reads.
The email said leaders are working on two initiatives in the upcoming weeks, and these initiatives will not affect curriculums or scholarly activities.
- Clarifying website language “to make it clear that individuals of any race, color and national origin may participate in our activities”
- Review selection criteria for opportunities that “may provide specific benefits to an individual, such as scholarships, awards, events, etc”
Some federal agencies, such as the National Institutes of Health, are also now requiring institutions to certify they do not have DEI programs that violate federal antidiscrimination laws in order to receive federal funding.
“The University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign values diversity, equity and inclusion and is committed to following anti-discrimination laws,” a university Massmail on May 8 said. “The university and University Counsel are currently reviewing the requirements and working with Sponsored Programs Administration (SPA) and impacted Principal Investigators (PIs) to address the certifications.”
The grants identified by Cruz at the university can be viewed in the table below.