The University of Louisville has disbanded the UofL Women’s Network and four other employee groups in response to a new state law.

A former president of one of the disbanded groups criticized the action, telling the Kentucky Lantern it goes further than required by the Republican legislature’s new ban on diversity initiatives in public higher education.

Ricky Jones, former president of the UofL Black Faculty/Staff Association and professor of Pan-African Studies, said the employee resource groups provided safe spaces for underrepresented people and allowed them to have “a unified voice to speak to the administration about issues.”

Jones criticized administrators at UofL and other universities for bowing to political pressure on decisions about diversity, equity and inclusion on campus. He predicted the assault on diversity in Kentucky higher education will “get worse before it gets better.”

“Higher education in Kentucky, for Black folk in particular, and for other groups that are being targeted, I think it’s a lost cause at this point, unless something drastic changes. And we don’t have leadership at these schools that are committed to making those types of changes, so we’re in trouble.”

In addition to the groups for Black and women faculty and staff, UofL has eliminated the Asian, Asian American and Pacific Islander Faculty and Staff Association; Hispanic Latino Faculty and Staff Association; and the LGBTQ+ Faculty and Staff Association.

After a review, some university...

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