Tessman Says NMU in Compliance with DEI Laws

Northern Michigan University President Brock Tessman told a packed university forum audience in the Northern Center ballrooms that a recent audit of diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) efforts conducted in response to the related White House executive order makes him and NMU's legal counsel confident that the university is in compliance with all DEI-related state and federal laws.

"That is because we do not have programs or practices that exclude other groups or give preferential regard to someone's race, gender, sexual orientation or religion," said Tessman at Monday's event.. "And that's true across our policies, admissions and housing practices, and the way things work inside and outside the classroom. It's important to underscore that very definitively because the stakes are high here. We are a public institution and we're connected, financially and otherwise, to the expectations of the federal government. If federal funding were cut or restricted, there would be significant consequences. … About $45 million of Northern's $180 million annual budget is derived from federal funding sources."

Tessman did identify a few changes being implemented in response to the executive order:

1. The Office of Diversity and Inclusion (ODI) will be renamed the Office of Opportunity, Empowerment and People, and the Student Equity and Engagement Center (SEEC) will be renamed the Center for Community & Connection, pending Board of Trustees approval on May 2. The current ODI and SEEC do not offer any programs that are exclusive by race, religion, gender or sexual orientation, so no program eliminations are needed. The three staff members' job descriptions have been updated to better reflect the current work of the office and center. Two related parts of NMU's strategic plan will change to better align with the restructuring.

"Some of you may know inclusion is one of our core values, and it will remain one of our core values," Tessman said. "We need to think about how to accurately describe what it means on this campus. Here's a working draft of a description, but there's been no final decision yet: 'Northern is a safe and welcoming place where differences are respected attributes of a person and a valuable part of the university experience. We aspire to learn from and encourage each other as global citizens, neighbors, colleagues and family. We desire to be a role model in embracing diverse points of view, engaging in civil society and governance, protecting human rights and promoting social justice.'"

1. A proposal has been made that the Superior Edge leadership program's diversity edge be renamed Diverse Perspectives and Experiences at the end of the semester to better clarify the full scope of the edge's curricula.
   
2. The creators or family members of five donor-funded scholarships with race and/or gender selection preferences will be contacted by the NMU Foundation about potentially adjusting the award criteria. The 2025-26 recipients have been determined, so any changes would impact the 2026-27 selections.

Tessman emphasized that because of Northern's compliance, and due to academic freedom protections, no changes are required in the following:

· Academic programs and courses

· Admissions

· University financial aid (see private donor-funded scholarships below)

· University policies, procedures, ordinances and training

· Name and activities of the NMU Center for Native American Studies

· Names or activities of student organizations that identify by race, religion, ethnicity or sexual orientation, because all registered NMU student organizations have open membership

· NMU on-campus housing

He also said that there were no changes being made to NMU's federal and state-sponsored student support programs, including McNair Scholars, Student Support Services, Upward Bound and state-KCP grant-funded programs, pending any guidance from the Department of Education and/or State of Michigan.

Tessman said that, over the summer, titles and selection criteria related to events, awards and programs will be considered for possible language changes that would be announced at the start of the fall semester. Northern will work with non-academic departments to review pages identified on the university's website with DEI references, primarily to remove outdated pages.

"As you all know, the executive orders are in different stages of being challenged or not, and we are going to continue to keep our ear to the ground and our eyes open," he added, before taking audience questions, most related to diversity and inclusion. "The amount of time, attention and communication around this has been exceptionally high for the last few months, and it will continue to be exceptionally high moving forward."

At the April 14 forum, Tessman also gave brief updates on the enrollment projection for the Fall 2025 semester-first-year orientation registrations are the highest they've been in five years-and the on-campus housing picture. He also addressed summer and fall construction on campus, and state funding progress and related budget planning for Fiscal Year 2026. Tessman said the state budget process might wrap up later in the summer than it typically does, and he described his projections for higher education funding, which comprises about 30% of NMU's budget, as "cautious."

A recording of the forum is available for viewing here.