University of Utah will close women’s, LGBT centers to comply with DEI ban

The University of Utah will eliminate its women’s and LGBT centers while creating two new programs and renaming a third in what it announced Thursday as efforts to comply with legislation banning diversity, equity, and inclusion programs.

The Women’s Resource Center and LGBT Resource Center will close as a result of the “Equal Opportunity Initiatives” law, which goes into effect July 1, a news release states.

The legislation requires “student services [to] be available to all students and not provided to individual students based on ‘personal identity characteristics,’” according to the release.

The university also is creating two new programs: the Center for Student Access and Resources, and the Community and Cultural Engagement Center, the release states.