DEI Dies Without PIER Pressure

An announcement from the Department of Energy will have a tectonic effect.


By Lawrence Krauss

Wall Street Journal

February 12, 2025


I thought the academic DEI juggernaut was unstoppable. Then, a week after President Trump’s inauguration, I got an email with an announcement from the Department of Energy: “The Office of Science is immediately ending the requirement for Promoting Inclusive and Equitable Research (PIER) Plans in any proposal submitted. . . . Reviewers will not be asked to read or comment on PIER Plans. Selection decisions will not take into consideration the content of PIER Plans or any reviewer comments on PIER Plans.”


PIER plans, which the Biden administration instituted in 2022, required every grant application to “describe the activities and strategies of the applicant to promote equity and inclusion as an intrinsic element to advancing scientific excellence.” In the words of the announcement, “The complexity and detail of a PIER Plan is expected to increase with the size of the research team and the number of personnel to be supported.”


The end of the PIER Plan and other DEI-related requirements is seismic. The major source of physical science research support in the country has sent a message to universities: Stick to science. It may be the death knell of what appeared to be an invulnerable academic bureaucracy that has been impeding the progress of higher education and research for at least a decade.


The massive, expensive and overwhelming DEI infrastructure at universities is motivated in large part by the need to respond to and comply with regulations associated with federal support of research and education. The DOE’s Office of Science is the single biggest funder of physical sciences in the U.S. It provides support for university programs and oversees the 10 U.S. National Laboratories, which provide facilities used by university faculty across many disciplines.


Last year a colleague of mine and I used ChatGPT to examine all 12,065 awards made by the National Science Foundation and classified more than 1,000 of them, accounting for more than $675 million, as focused on DEI rather than science. And under Biden decrees, even science-focused grants were evaluated on DEI grounds.


Given the reach of the Office of Science, it is inevitable that the National Science Foundation will feel pressure to dismantle its massive DEI programming infrastructure, including its initiative, Includes—an acronym for Inclusion across the Nation of Communities of Learners of Underrepresented Discoveries in Engineering and Science.


The Education Department announced on Jan. 23 that it would end its DEI programming, training, and its Diversity and Inclusion Council and the unwieldily named Employee Engagement Diversity Equity Inclusion Accessibility Council. Without DEI guiding federal funding of scientific research, the rationale for universities to maintain their expensive DEI bureaucracy will largely disappear.


As recently as a few months ago, it was impossible to imagine that a single executive order could free the scientific community in this country to do what we do best: science.


Mr. Krauss, a theoretical physicist, is president of the Origins Project Foundation and author of “The Edge of Knowledge: Unsolved Mysteries of the Cosmos.”


DEI Dies Without PIER Pressure - WSJ

The latest FIRE Campus Free Speech Rankings show work remains at Davidson

September 11, 2025
DFTD Newsletter 9/11/2025 The latest Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression (FIRE) survey results are here. While this year’s results show some consistency with previous years, they also highlight that significant work remains to build a campus culture where open dialogue and a wide range of viewpoints are welcomed at Davidson College. A concerning 60% of students remain uncomfortable disagreeing with a professor on controversial political topics in class, and nearly as many (58%) hesitate in written assignments. One in four students openly self-censor while interacting with professors at least a couple times a week, while 48% report feeling uncomfortable in classroom discussions. Outside the classroom, the problem worsens , where 70% of students are too afraid to express unpopular opinions on social media. Equally troubling are students’ attitudes toward disrupting speech. More than a third, or 37%, of Davidson students think it’s acceptable to shout down a speaker, 19% would block others from attending an event, and 15% condone violence to stop a campus speech. These numbers suggest that, despite Davidson’s reputation for civility, many students believe intimidation is an acceptable tool for undermining the very notion of open discourse. While trust in the administration has improved and fewer students now doubt the College will defend them from censorship, significant skepticism remains. 34% of students believe peers could be reported for expressing controversial ideas, and a similar number, 37%, believe the same for professors. Davidson has made important strides, but the culture of open expression between students and professors is still fragile. The FIRE survey underscores the importance of freedom of expression in more than policies on paper. It requires a campus climate where students feel safe to speak their minds. DFTD calls on the College to take the following concrete steps to strengthen free speech and viewpoint diversity at Davidson; Adopt a policy of Institutional Neutrality whereby the College and Departments do not take ideological or political positions Expand ideological diversity among faculty, staff, and trustees Make the College’s Commitment to Freedom of Expression Statement a key part of New Student Orientation Conduct a thorough review of all policies and procedures related to speech With these actions, Davidson College has the opportunity to lead by example, showing how a liberal arts education can prepare students to engage thoughtfully and confidently in the world beyond campus.

The Great Grade Giveaway

August 19, 2025
You get an A! And you get an A! On campuses this fall, some students might feel like they’ve wandered into their own Oprah episode, except the prize is a transcript filled with top marks.

Announcing Major Gift from Dr. William Winkenwerder '76

August 15, 2025
DFTD Newsletter 8/19/2025 Davidsonians for Freedom of Thought and Discourse is honored to announce a multi-year, major gift from Dr. William Winkenwerder. This generous commitment will ensure that the Davidson community can engage directly with leading voices who shape global affairs and national security policy. A 1976 graduate of Davidson College and former member of the Davidson College Board of Trustees (2015-2022), Dr. Winkenwerder is a nationally recognized physician and health care executive who served as Assistant Secretary of Defense for Health Affairs under President George W. Bush and as a senior leader at the Department of Health and Human Services under President Ronald Regan. His long-standing dedication to public service and his commitment to robust, open discussion on critical issues of foreign policy have been a hallmark of his career. Dr. Winkenwerder’s support will bolster DFTD’s programs by creating the Winkenwerder Policy Series on the Middle East , allowing students to welcome distinguished guests exploring some of today’s most challenging global issues. In collaboration with students and faculty, this series of speakers will offer the Davidson campus and community the chance to hear firsthand perspectives from experts in US Defense Policy, Middle East relations, and international policy at large. This transformative gift from Dr. Winkenwerder will enable vital conversations that foster open discourse and inspire Davidson students and the campus community to explore global issues with curiosity and purpose.
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