Dem. Senators Grill University BoR Appointees on DEI Ban

By Colin A. Warren

A confirmation hearing in the Alaska Legislature this week turned into a grilling session for two appointees to the University of Alaska’s Board of Regents over the board’s controversial decision to scrub diversity, equity and inclusion references from university websites and other documents.

Photo by Anna Lionas

Board of Regents appointee Christine Resler rises after her hearing before the Senate Education Committee on April 2, 2025.

The Senate Education Committee on April 2 questioned appointees Christine Resler and Karen Perdue in a one-hour hearing.

Resler voted in favor of the board’s controversial 9-1 decision on Feb. 21 to remove DEI references on university websites, documents and official titles, a move criticized as an infringement on academic freedom and freedom of speech.

Sen. Löki Tobin (D-Anchorage) opened the hearing by noting her personal connection to the University of Alaska. Tobin received her undergraduate and graduate degrees at University of Alaska Fairbanks and is currently enrolled in a doctoral program there in culturally responsive education. She described the recent Board of Regents’ motion acting as a threat to inclusivity. 

“I have felt accepted. I have felt supported, not only through Native services, but also through the Black Student Union and all the different programs that we offer students who look like me,” Tobin said. 

While she said she deeply believes in the university’s mission, Tobin said her faith has been shaken over the last few weeks.

“Many of my fellow colleagues and fellow students are feeling similar. We are feeling unheard. We are feeling unseen,” Tobin said as a result of the board’s action.

Resler said the Feb. 21 meeting was the first time she had attended a Regents’ meeting and the topic was not something she was expecting.

Resler said she'd rather look to the future than to the past. 

Senator Jesse Keihl  (D - Juneau, Haines, Skagway, Gustavus, and Klukwan) said the Board of Regents’ motion yielded too much to the federal government. 

Photo by Anna Lionas

Alaska Senate Education Committee holds new BoR appointees to account on April 2 in the Alaska State Capitol.

“I want to talk to you about the part of the motion where it absolutely toadies to the federal government. Toadies, bootlicks, rolls over and submissively wets. It doesn’t just say we’re going to follow the U.S. Constitution or federal law. It says any guidance, any executive orders or guidance that come out of the federal government, anything from the U.S. Department of Education on Maryland Avenue in Washington D.C., is the law of the University of Alaska system. Is there any red line at all?” Keihl asked. 

Resler assured the committee that the Board of Regents will support the students, faculty and alumni, largely sidestepping the question by talking about her own experience as a professor.

“This isn’t about politics,” she concluded. “The Board of Regents is about making a difference for the state and making a difference for education and the opportunities that our young people have and keeping our kids here.”

The board was under pressure from an encroaching deadline, she said, referring to the two-week time limit the Trump Administration gave universities to comply with its order to eradicate all DEI language from campuses that receive federal funding. 

It was important to preserve funding while maintaining the integrity and substance of university program, she told lawmakers.

“We had a difficult decision,” Resler said. 

Perdue was not present at the vote for the DEI motion; she was the only BoR member not there.

But she briefly addressed the topic of federal mandates during her testimony.

“Right now is a time of uncertainty,” Perdue said. “We cannot control that environment, but we can certainly try to understand it and maximize our opportunities where our work aligns with the federal agenda and also minimize our risk.”

Committee members Senate President Gary Stevens (R - Kodiak) and Senator Jesse Bjorkman (R - Kenai) were also at the hearing. Stevens asked Resler about research and Bjorkman did not pose any questions to either appointee.

The committee recommended the governor’s appointees Resler and Purdue, though noted that their advancement does not mean that they will vote for or against them. A confirmation vote will be taken in a joint session of the Alaska House of Representatives and Senate before the end of the legislative session in May. 

“I want you to know that there are people like me who care very deeply about this [the University of Alaska] institution that are there to protect and defend [it] not just from things that are happening in Washington, but also from all the terrible things that impede academic freedom,” Tobin said.