University of Idaho’s Women’s Center closes due to DEI ban [Video]

MOSCOW, Idaho — The University of Idaho’s Women’s Center, a cornerstone of support services for more than five decades, held its farewell celebration Friday. 

The closure is a casualty of the State Board of Education’s recent ban on Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) offices in higher education. Before the resolution passed it sparked controversy from students and staff across the state. 

“I’m grieving deeply the closing of the Women’s Center.” director of the center, Lysa Salsbury said. “I’ve loved working here. We’ve done incredible work for the campus and community. So, a lot of sadness, but also it felt like a celebration.”

Salsbury has worked at the center since 2005 and later became director in 2013. She said the center was a place she could combine her “personal values” and “professional goals.”

The center, which closed in December, was one of the …