DEI: Drop the Label, Keep the Goals

“Had another nation done this, we would regard this as an act of war.” — Arthur Levine, President of Brandeis University

Forget Iran for a moment. I asked Brandeis President Arthur Levine whether the Trump administration has gone to war with the American university. He paused diplomatically. “Going to war is a very restrictive term,” he answered. Then added: “Had another nation done this, we would regard this as an act of war.” From the president of Brandeis, that’s not a metaphorical dodge. He is, of course, referring to the singling out and bullying of Harvard, Columbia, the University of Pennsylvania and other universities by executive order. Levine trusts nothing like this will happen again. But he also trusted it wouldn’t and shouldn’t have happened in the first place.

Levine is back on the show with a new book, From Upheaval to Action: What Works in Changing Higher Ed, co-authored with Scott Van Pelt. Last time we talked, we argued about whether the $320,000 degree is worth it. This time our conversation wasn’t so much about whether the degree is worth the exorbitant price tag, but whether the institution that grants it will survive. Indeed Brandeis is about to announce guaranteed transparent pricing — a necessary revolution in an industry that has, for too long, thrived on financial opacity.

A more existential threat to universities like Brandeis is AI. In this week’s That Was The Week tech roundup, Keith Teare noted that even engineers at major tech companies are being told to stop coding and run AI instead. I tell the story of a UC Berkeley student who told his professor he didn’t need to read anymore because AI could do the reading for him. For Levine, this represents a failure of education, not a triumph of technology. Reading and writing are muscles, he says. You don’t build intellectual heft by outsourcing thinking to smart machines.

Levine draws the Luddite parallel. He argues the early 19th century craftsmen got better-paid work in factories. Every technological revolution produces fear, displacement, and eventually adaptation, he warns. So are university faculty the modern-day craftsmen? Their work will change, Levine explains. AI will take the routine parts with new more creative jobs emerging. But anyone who tells you they know what those jobs are is making it up, he says.

I pushed him on Epstein and the ethical rot of the American elite. He deflected — “we’re talking about a very small number of people” — but eventually conceded that ethics should be woven into every undergraduate subject, not taught as a single standalone course. I’m not sure that goes far enough. When university presidents are resigning because they took money from a child trafficker, it suggests that something is really rotten.

On DEI, Levine is surprisingly blunt: drop the term. It’s become a target for both left and right. Replace it with full access to higher education for those who can benefit from it. He sold this full access program to Democrats as equity and to Republicans as workforce development. Both bought it. The label was the problem, he explains, not the policy.

Henry Adams went to Harvard in 1850 and said he received an 18th century education for a world preparing for the 20th century. The worst mistake, Levine says, is not adapting to change. On that, Luddite university faculty, and perhaps even Donald Trump, might agree.

Five Takeaways

•       “Had Another Nation Done This, We Would Regard It as an Act of War”: Brandeis President Arthur Levine chose his words with the care you’d expect from a university president, but the meaning was unmistakable. The Trump administration has singled out Harvard, Columbia, and the University of Pennsylvania, threatened their funding, and imposed regulations by executive order. Had any foreign government done this to American universities, Levine says, we would call it what it is. He trusts it won’t happen again. He also trusted it wouldn’t happen in the first place.

•       Brandeis Is About to Announce Transparent Pricing: Brandeis will soon tell prospective students exactly what they’ll pay — not the sticker price minus a mysterious financial aid package, but the actual number, guaranteed. It’s a small revolution in an industry that has thrived for decades on opacity, and it may force other universities to follow or explain why they won’t.

•       AI Represents a Failure of Education, Not a Triumph of Technology: A Berkeley student told his professor he didn’t need to read anymore because AI could do the reading for him. Levine’s response is blunt: reading and writing are muscles, and you don’t build intellectual muscle by outsourcing thinking to smart machines. He speaks from experience — he used AI for his own research and half the data came back wrong, with sources that turned out to be hallucinations.

•       Drop the Term DEI and Replace It with Full Access: Levine is surprisingly direct on this: the term DEI has become a target for both left and right, and it no longer serves whatever purpose it once had. He recommends replacing it with a simpler goal — full access to higher education for those who can benefit from it. He tested this framing himself, selling the same programme to Democrats as equity and to Republicans as workforce development. Both bought it. The label was the problem, not the policy.

•       The Worst Mistake a University Can Make Is Not Changing: Henry Adams went to Harvard in 1850 and later said he had received an 18th century education for a world preparing for the 20th century. Levine’s fear is that American universities are making the same mistake again — delivering a 20th century education for a world that has already moved into the 21st. The worst thing any institution can do right now, he says, is keep doing what it’s always done and expect the same results. On that, the Luddites, and perhaps even Donald Trump, might agree.

About the Guest

Arthur Levine is the president of Brandeis University and president emeritus of Columbia University’s Teachers College and the Woodrow Wilson National Fellowship Foundation. His new book is From Upheaval to Action: What Works in Changing Higher Ed (Johns Hopkins University Press, 2026), co-authored with Scott Van Pelt.

References:

•       From Upheaval to Action: What Works in Changing Higher Ed by Arthur Levine and Scott Van Pelt (2026) — the book under discussion.

•       Previous episode: Is That $320,000 College Degree Really Worth It? — Levine’s first appearance on the show, September 2025.

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