Ohio State University has banned land acknowledgments from being used in most public-facing settings unless directly tied to academic instruction. The policy, implemented in response to a new state law, prohibits faculty and departments from including land acknowledgments in syllabi, at university events, on websites, or on signage. Faculty may only reference them when explicitly relevant to course material.
The change follows Ohio Senate Bill 1, which took effect in June 2025 and requires all public universities in the state to remain neutral on political and social issues. Under the law, public institutions cannot promote or endorse statements that advocate for specific causes. The university’s compliance office has classified land acknowledgments as political statements and directed that they be removed from general use.
The university clarified that land acknowledgments may still be used in the context of a class, but only when they are part of the academic content being taught. Instructors must be able to explain how the acknowledgment directly relates to course material. Use of the statements in general announcements, classroom introductions, or programmatic materials is no longer permitted.
Land acknowledgments typically recognize the Indigenous tribes who originally inhabited the land where a university is located. At Ohio State, this had included language naming the Shawnee, Miami, and other tribes as original stewards of the land. The university’s Earthworks Center previously encouraged faculty to include the acknowledgment in syllabi and presentations.
Opposition to the new restriction has come from faculty in the university’s American Indian Studies program and from national academic organizations. Critics argue that land acknowledgments are factual statements of history, not political endorsements. Supporters of the law maintain that taxpayer-funded institutions should not promote ideological messages that fall outside their educational mission.
Ohio State’s decision marks one of the first high-profile examples of a public university responding to state-level legislation restricting diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives. Other provisions in SB 1 prohibit public colleges from mandating DEI training and restrict how institutions may discuss race, gender, and identity in curriculum and hiring.
