Arizona State University (ASU) is now dealing with a second federal allegation after another faculty member admitted that the university has been continuing its diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) initiatives, despite federal directives to halt such activities.
The organization Protect the Public’s Trust (PPT) lodged a complaint against ASU on Monday, asserting that an associate dean was caught on hidden camera stating that the university only altered its language while still teaching DEI concepts. This follows a previous complaint made by PPT on January 28 after an associate program director was filmed making a similar admission.
“New information indicates that conditions at ASU might be worse than previously understood,” the complaint states. “With two employees from ASU making similar declarations, we suspect that these actions are not isolated but perhaps coordinated or endorsed by higher officials in the institution.”
Associate Dean for Inclusive Design for Equity and Access and Clinical Associate Professor Chandra Kuldup disclosed that departments within the university had begun “changing their language” in order to avoid scrutiny, though they are still covertly conducting DEI initiatives.
“It’s all still in play,” Crudup mentioned.
Crudup also indicated that the university has established an underground “inclusion network” that connects various departments throughout the institution. She purportedly leads ASU’s “Office of Ideas,” which offers faculty resources for integrating DEI into their curricula.
In a previous admission, Rebecca Loftus, the associate chair of ASU’s Criminology Department, had recognized that DEI remains a component of the curriculum and that staff are concealing its underlying ideology.
ASU has not provided any response to inquiries from DCNF.
“What ASU claimed wasn’t happening might actually be occurring,” Michael Chamberlain, Director of PPT, stated. “Another official confirmed that the university is still implementing discriminatory DEI policies, but attempts to obscure them from students, parents, and the public. It seems evident that educational institutions are committed to maintaining these policies despite public sentiment or even legal mandates.”
Complaints have been submitted to the Department of Education, Department of Justice, and Department of Health and Human Services. However, none of these departments have commented.
A recent tweet discussed the revelation from an independent journalist who recorded the associate dean admitting that ASU is still promoting DEI, stating, “It’s embedded in who we are. We started changing the language, but we’re still doing the same thing.”
In January 2025, President Donald Trump enacted an executive order to eliminate DEI programs in the federal government, which included barring federal grants from funding such initiatives in educational institutions. Crudup stated that there isn’t an outright ban on DEI at schools.
“There is considerable evidence that ASU persists in practices promoting DEI on campus,” the complaint asserts. “With two officials now acknowledging ongoing activities, it’s clear they are merely rebranding DEI in curriculum and student opportunities to sidestep scrutiny.”
