Wendy Smooth, former senior vice provost of inclusive excellence, returned to a faculty position Jan. 31. University spokesperson Ben Johnson confirmed in an email the former senior vice provost position has been “eliminated.” Credit: Courtesy of The Ohio State University
Ohio State eliminated a top leadership position that directly focused on university diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives in late January.
Wendy Smooth, former senior vice provost of inclusive excellence, returned to a faculty position Jan. 31, according to an email sent by then-interim Executive Vice President and Provost Karla Zadnik to university colleagues. The email, sent on Jan. 9, said Smooth would return to a College of Arts and Sciences faculty position at the end of the month and continue her professorship in the Department of Women’s, Gender and Sexuality Studies.
University spokesperson Ben Johnson confirmed in an email Smooth currently serves in this faculty role, and her former senior vice provost position has been “eliminated.”
Smooth did not respond to The Lantern’s repeated requests for comment in time for publication.
Though Johnson couldn’t offer insight into why Smooth’s former position was eliminated beyond Zadnik’s email, this change comes in the context of broader DEI removals across the state and nation.
Wednesday afternoon, Ohio Senate Bill 1 — which would overhaul DEI programs in public higher education if signed into law — passed through the full Ohio Senate in a 21-11 vote. This decision, which was divided largely along party lines, arrived despite hundreds of Ohioans testifying against the bill at the Statehouse Tuesday, per prior Lantern reporting.
On a broader scale, the Trump administration has issued orders banning DEI policies in all programs that receive federal funding, uniquely impacting higher education institutions that depend on this funding for research grants and projects, according to a Feb. 1 article from the Associated Press.
According to an Ohio State News article from May 12, 2022, Smooth’s senior vice provost for inclusive excellence position involved collaboration with institutional leaders to “integrate inclusive excellence” into Ohio State and aid the university in “creating an inclusive culture.”
The article also states Smooth, in her senior vice provost position, would oversee the Office of Diversity and Inclusion, the Office of Institutional Equity and the Kirwan Institute for the Study of Race and Ethnicity.
Zadnik said in her Jan. 9 email ODI and the Kirwan Institute will “continue to report through the Office of Academic Affairs, as they did prior to 2022.” Johnson said OIE has always reported to OAA and will continue to do so given this administrative change.
According to ODI’s Inclusive Excellence webpage, Sara Childers currently serves as the university’s assistant vice provost for inclusive excellence. Childers said in an email she does not know why Smooth’s former position was eliminated.
“Unfortunately, I am not privy to the reason for the elimination of the position,” Childers said. “As far as impact to inclusive excellence staff, the structure returned to as it was before the position was created in 2022.”
Johnson confirmed Childers’ position is still active and reports to interim associate Vice Provost for Diversity and Inclusion Andreá Williams.
University president Ted Carter Jr. sent an email to students, faculty and staff Wednesday afternoon addressing policy developments at both state and national levels and how Ohio State may be impacted by such changes.
As administrators are evaluating how to proceed, the university created a website that “will serve as a central resource for all information on legislative and executive actions and their potential impact on Ohio State,” according to Carter’s email.
In the context of DEI specifically, Carter’s email said the university is forming “working groups” to review Ohio State’s DEI-related positions and programming.
“Our goal is to ensure that we have a full picture of the university’s work in this area and can be positioned to make changes if state or federal law requires it or if we decide a different approach is in the university’s best interests,” Carter’s email said.
