Notre Dame’s Diversity Efforts Face New Federal Test

In response to a series of federal laws from the Trump administration that revoke tax-exempt status for private schools that use racial preferences, Notre Dame has renamed its diversity offices and recast faculty hiring around its Catholic mission over the past two years.  If they were to maintain their Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) programs and lose the tax exemption, Notre Dame would have owed more than 500 million dollars last year, the Observer reported. 

Despite such changes, the universities’ 10-year strategic plan establishes the goal for a more diverse campus with specific expectations, and several programs retain an explicit racial focus.

The Treasury Department and the Internal Revenue Service published the newest rules on DEI programs on September 4. The rules would deny tax-exempt status to any private school that considers race in admissions, scholarships, or other programs, even if the school says its goal is to increase diversity or make up for past discrimination. Specifically, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said in a statement, “Schools rebranding race-based preferences as equitable, inclusive, or diversity-enhancing does not change their discriminatory nature.”