The MAP Center was a project with the Great Lakes Equity Center. Indiana University has since taken down the centers' website. (Indiana University)
Indiana University quietly shuttered a project that trained educators in civil rights, equity and school reform after a stop-work order from the U.S. Department of Education.
The Midwest and Plains Equity Assistance Center was a project of the Great Lakes Equity Center on the Indianapolis campus. IU terminated center staff, removed its office space and stopped all work after the order. Kathleen King Thorius, senior advisor and founder of the Great Lakes Equity Center, said the order came on Feb. 13 and the center was shut down days later. The university didn’t discuss the changes with staff or offer an appeals process, she said.
IU didn’t respond to multiple requests for comment.
The Department of Education advised public schools and universities to close diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) programs or risk loss of funding. The department issued the notice, but additional guidance walked back the demands. The department’s guidance shows leaders believe some DEI programming could be discriminatory.
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“It's disappointing that the federal government has actively committed to dismantling students’ civil rights protections under the law,” King Thorius said. “It’s disappointing that the institution in which we built a renowned program of public benefit has decided to, essentially, effectively end all work associated with the center without so much as a direct conversation.”
Human Resources directed staff to take PTO on Feb. 14. On the next workday, their roles were terminated, King Thorius said.
“This program's cancellation paired with new guidance coming out of the U.S. Department of Education are signaling a massive shift,” King Thorius said. “What I've been saying is the opposite of DEI — the opposite of diversity, equity, inclusion — is homogeneity, inequity and exclusion.”
In 2022, the U.S. Department of Education awarded the MAP Center a five-year, $8.5 million agreement.
King Thorius said the MAP Center served 13 states. Though she said the equity center and the MAP Center are separate, the university has removed all public information on the Great Lakes Equity Center.
The MAP Center reported it worked with more than 7,000 public school districts and 11 million students, according to archives of the website.
King Thorius was told IU is “reviewing communications” to the center’s existing partners.
“I've received messages from dozens of individuals who've expressed their sadness, and disappointment, their anger about the sudden closure of not only the MAP Center, but apparently the Great Lakes Equity Center,” King Thorius said.
The MAP Center was one of four equity centers in the U.S. authorized under Title IV of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. Originating from the need to desegregate public schools, the centers provide schools and government agencies free assistance on matters related to race, sex, national origin and religion.
“Everything that the center has done since 2011 has been grounded in robust educational theory and research, and documented in agreement with the federal government,” King Thorius said.
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King Thorius said the center’s work included promoting information on students’ civil rights and integration, building support for underserved communities, improving retention of teachers and more.
The equity center brought in about $23 million to the university and funded about 35 graduate students, King Thorius said. Since 2011, the center has not received any complaints about the quality of its work or impact.
King Thorius said the center always had a disclaimer that said all materials and information are not necessarily endorsed by the federal government, though it is in support of the work.
The three other equity centers around the U.S. are appealing their stop-work orders, King Thorius said.
The staff and King Thorius are regrouping, she said. She plans on protecting the civil rights of all students in her scholarship and personal life.
“I'm hopeful,” King Thorius said. “I know that this work began long before us, and it will continue long into the future.”
Aubrey is our higher education reporter and a Report For America corps member. Contact her at aubmwrig@iu.edu or follow her on X @aubreymwright.
