UVU’s Center for Intercultural Engagement, or CIE, was reportedly dissolved as of Friday.

The university has also announced layoffs impacting a batch of full-time employees.

The actions are related to budget pressures mandated by the Utah Legislature earlier this year and an apparent effort to adhere to a state law restricting diversity programs in all public entities — such as college campuses.

“Due to legislative actions, UVU must reallocate $8.9 million from its 2025-26 budget, which has unfortunately resulted in job position reductions in academics and administration,” a university spokesperson said in a statement Wednesday morning.

During the 2025 legislative session, lawmakers passed House Bill 265, a bill that instructs institutions to build a “strategic reinvestment plan.” Schools can recapture the cut funding and use it for programs that “merit additional investment.”

In March, UVU told the Daily Herald the university was collaborating with the Utah System of Higher Education, or USHE, to “formulate a strategic reinvestment plan in accordance with the outlined policies and procedures of HB 265.”

“Thanks to the proactive hiring freeze we implemented last fall, and careful personnel management, nearly one-third of the eliminated positions are currently vacant or are being discontinued following retirements or contract expirations. The total number of affected roles represents less than two percent of UVU’s full-time workforce,” the university spokesperson added.

Meanwhile, UVU says due to required budget allocations, and “strict enforcement of state law and intense legislative oversight,” the institution has also axed the Center for Intercultural Engagement.

“At the same time, we are increasing our focus on the new student success center to advance our commitment to helping all students succeed and reach their individual potential,” the university statement reads.

House Bill 261, or the Equal Opportunities Initiative, became law last July and restricts diversity programs in all public entities — such as DEI statements in hiring and certain trainings — it bans the words “diversity, equity and inclusion” from ever being in a public office’s name.

As a result, institutions like UVU restructured their DEI-related programs to allow for more broader student involvement and perspectives.

Thus, the Center for Intercultural Engagement was created at UVU. It includes multiple branches, such as the Women’s Intercultural Engagement Center, the LGBTQ+ Intercultural Engagement Center and the Multicultural Intercultural Engagement Center. According to the UVU Review, the school’s newspaper, those programs were birthed due to the consolidation of prior student support centers — Women’s Success Center, LGBTQ+ Student Success Center and Multicultural Student Services — in response to the passage of H.B. 261 in 2024.

“Since July 1, 2024, Utah Valley University has made a good faith effort to operate the Center for Intercultural Engagement within the confines of the law.

However, given the required budget allocations, as well as the strict enforcement of state law and intense legislative oversight, it became clear that the center could not meet the students’ needs in a meaningful way. We are reallocating resources to a variety of efforts to serve all students and magnify the impact focusing on student success,” the university spokesperson told the Daily Herald.

When the email was sent out Friday regarding the CIE’s abrupt closure from UVU’s Division of Student Affairs, the news allegedly prompted a sit-in protest held by members of the Spectrum UVU, a student group that supports LGBTQ+ students, the UVU Review reported.

The same group was said to have a solidarity gathering event planned for Thursday in efforts to sway university leaders to keep the programs, they announced in a social media post.

A change.org petition aimed at keeping the center alive had amassed more than 1,680 signatures voicing their displeasure of the decision as of Wednesday afternoon.

“Having this club at UVU has always been something that gives me hope, and makes me feel accepted and welcome,” one of the petition signers wrote.

UVU says it will present its proposed strategic reinvestment plan to the Utah Board of Higher Education in May and will focus on investing additional funds in workforce alignment and timely student completion.

As for the budget cuts, those are set to take effect July 1, 2025.

At this time UVU says it does not anticipate any further roles to be eliminated.