Board of Trustees discusses DEI legislation and Ohio State’s athletic success at Wednesday meeting

Laurence Myers-Bailey
Thu, 20 Feb 2025 06:12:16 +0000
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The Ohio State Board of Trustees met Wednesday to discuss DEI legislation and athletic achievements. Credit: Laurence Myers-Bailey | Lantern Reporter

The university Board of Trustees held a meeting Wednesday morning to discuss recent diversity, equity and inclusion legislation and honor Ohio State’s champion sports teams for their achievements in athletics and academics.

University stance on DEI

During the meeting, university President Ted Carter Jr. addressed federal policy changes involving DEI programs, acknowledging public institutions receive direct instruction from the U.S. Department of Education.

Friday, the Department of Education issued a letter threatening to remove federal funding from public education institutions if the elimination of DEI initiatives is not achieved by the end of the month, per prior Lantern reporting.

“This new guidance will likely inform and accelerate our work,” Carter said.

Carter said he expects the university to make changes regarding its DEI programs and initiatives but didn’t share any specific plans for the immediate future.

“I have heard and understood the concerns and questions we’ve received from students, faculty and staff,” Carter said. “I will not pretend to have all the answers here at this very moment, and I will not pretend these conversations will be easy.”

In addition, Carter affirmed the university’s responsibility to follow Ohio laws.

“My job as president is to make sure that first, we follow the law, second, that we take care of our students, faculty and staff and third, that we stay true to our values as a land-grant university serving the people of Ohio,” Carter said.

John Zeiger, chair of the board, said the body supports Carter and the decisions his team will make regarding recent changes in DEI legislation.

“I want to be very clear this board supports President Carter and his team strongly as they navigate the policy changes that are coming from various levels of government,” Zeiger said.

Athletic achievements?

Zeiger highlighted the achievements of the Buckeyes football and dance teams, who both won their respective national championships.

“The Ohio State football team won the national championship in the first-ever 12[-team] college football playoff, and won it in a spectacular fashion,” Zeiger said. “And just days before, our spirit and dance teams also won national championships. You might say they initiated the path of momentum for the football team to finish in Atlanta.”

Beyond highlighting the teams’ competitive achievements, Zeiger called attention to the academic successes of Ohio State’s student-athletes. According to Ohio State athletics director Ross Bjork, student-athletes achieved a cumulative grade point average of 3.368 department-wide, Zeiger said.

“The football team joins their counterparts at Harvard as the only Division I football teams in the country with a perfect academic progress rate, as measured by the NCAA,” Zeiger said. “Truly a remarkable achievement, in one of which all Buckeyes should be very proud.”

Following Zeiger’s address, Carey Hoyt, executive associate athletics director, praised the university’s coaching staff for its role in guiding Ohio State teams to their achievements.

“The coaching staff for leadership that our coaches provide for our student-athletes is second to none,” Hoyt said.

Brian Hartline, assistant football coach, and Melissa McGhee, director of the Ohio State Spirit Program, also thanked the board for its support of university athletic programs.

“Year in and year out your guys’ support is unparalleled,” said Hartline. “We are not where we are today if it wasn’t for you guys’ support.”

To conclude the meeting, members of the Buckeyes football team — including Caleb Downs, Carson Hinzman, Sonny Styles and Tegra Tshabola — presented the College Football Playoff National Championship Trophy to the Board of Trustees.