College campuses are buzzing with activity as students return after summer break, but change is also in the air.

And more than 400 colleges and universities, programs and centers that promote diversity, equity, and inclusion have been eliminated or rebranded.

DEI programs have been under a microscope since state laws and President Trump's executive orders

labeled them as discriminatory. So what's the future of DEI in higher education?

Paulette Granberry Russell, president and CEO of the National Association of Diversity Officers

in Higher Education, is here to tell us more. It's part of our rethinking college series.

Paulette, thank you so much for

joining us. Your organization is more than 20 years old, which seems to underscore the fact that

these efforts to promote diversity on college campuses is not new, but do you think that history

is reflected in the current national conversation we're having about DEI. As you reference,

the organization that I helped to lead has been around for 20 years. But that is not representative

of the efforts within our colleges and universities to become a more welcoming, supportive environment

for students based on diverse

backgrounds, identities, lived experiences. So we've had quite a bit of work over the, I'd say,

the last 60 plus years to create a more supportive environment for all of our students.

And some of them have told us about the ways in which these types of programs help them get

access to specific scholarships, program centers, designed to encourage diversity.

We spoke to one student at the University of Texas, Dallas, to find out what these programs on

his campus meant to him.

When I did have access to DEI programs, they helped me a lot in being able to find a community

where there was none.

It's very easy as a Latino to feel very lost, especially if it's you're coming from a low-income

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