Stanford University officially dissolved its Office for Inclusion, Belonging and Intergroup Communication (IBIC), disbanding what had been a flagship diversity initiative. The director, Ester Sihite, and one part-time staff member were laid off, while approximately 35 student employees were transferred to the Office of Student Engagement (OSE) amid university restructuring.
Stanford justified the move as a response to “ongoing fiscal challenges” and asserted the “reorganization decision was made to preserve and strengthen core elements of student life while anchoring and integrating them within a broader portfolio focused on student wellbeing and engagement,” according to an email from Assistant Vice Provost Samuel Santos. Established initially as the Diversity and First‑Gen Office in 2016, IBIC led over 60 workshops and engaged more than 1,300 participants between 2022 and 2024. The office also administered academic offerings such as PSYCH 103F “Intergroup Communication Facilitation” and LEAD 152 “Dialogue Lab: Exploring and Cultivating Our Capacity to Engage Across Difference”.
IBIC director Sihite described the university’s decision-making process as opaque and distressing, stating she received no prior notice and learned of her dismissal abruptly on June 11 during an administrative meeting. Student staff responded emotionally to the closure. Former lead peer facilitator Jenna Ali reflected uncertainty about the future of programs like the Peer Facilitation Program and Faces of Community, noting that administrators had no clear transition plan.
Campus critics emphasize that the decision reflects a broader national and political sea-change. Stanford made similar moves earlier in 2025 by removing DEI content from websites, reducing budgets, and responding to federal pressure under Trump administration policies targeting university diversity and campus protest programs. Reuters reports that Stanford has laid off over 360 employees in total, citing budgetary shortfalls of approximately $140 million influenced by federal policy. Observers note that federal agencies have recently frozen hundreds of millions in funding to other elite institutions such as UCLA, Columbia, Brown, and Harvard due to perceived failures addressing antisemitism and pro‑Palestinian protests.
This development signifies a pivot away from institutionalized DEI infrastructure toward consolidated student engagement models.
