KANSAS CITY, Mo. — University of Kansas officials notified staff, employees and student employees Tuesday of a slew of changes meant to align with a recently adopted change passed by the Kansas Board of Regents.
Among the changes are a July 31 deadline for employees — including student employees — to “remove gender-identifying pronouns or gender ideology from email signature blocks on state employee email accounts and any other form of communication.”
KU Chancellor Douglas A. Girod, Barbara Bichelmeyer, chief academic officer/provost and vice chancellor for KU’s Lawrence and Edwards campuses, and Steve Stites, chief health sciences officer and executive vice chancellor for KU Medical Center, communicated the new directives Tuesday.
“All employees shall comply with this directive by removing gender-identifying pronouns and personal pronoun series from their KU email signature blocks, webpages, Zoom/Teams screen IDs and any other form of university communications,” the officials said in their communication.
Anyone with an email address ending with ku.edu, kumc.edu, kletc.org and any affiliated organizations using those accounts will be required to make the change.
The e-mail signature requirement was one of five directives issued as part of the KSBOR’s decision.
The other four provisions call on the university to eliminate any positions relating to diversity, equity and inclusion; eliminate any DEI mandates, policies, programs, preferences and activities; eliminate any DEI employee training requirements; cancel any DEI-related grants or contracts.
“Each Jayhawk contributes to the community of learning and growth that is KU,” the leaders said.
The leaders offered a link to online support to any student, staff or faculty member needing assistance with the new requirements.
“At KU, we elevate the university and each other through our mission of education, research and service,” the leaders wrote. “Thank you for your dedication to the university and the people we serve.”
—