Dear Colleagues,
On January 21, 2025, Executive Order 14173 was issued, rescinding federal affirmative action requirements regarding employment of minorities and women. As of April 21, 2025, the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign's employee recruitment and hiring guidelines, training materials, and other resources have been updated to reflect these regulatory changes.
These changes do not alter or diminish the university’s longstanding commitment to equal employment opportunity as a core value. This includes ensuring that our recruitment and hiring practices are fair, consistent, and merit-based, without bias or preference for or against any person based on their race, sex, or any other legally protected classifications. It also includes maintaining a welcoming, respectful, and inclusive climate for all people, including employees and job applicants.
The university’s Recruitment and Hiring Guidelines, the “Inclusive Hiring at Illinois” training program, and the Search Process Toolkit have been updated to reflect our continuing commitment to equal employment opportunity while removing references to federal regulations that are no longer in effect. Diversity Advocates, EEO Officers and Vice Chairs remain a part of the university’s recruitment and hiring process.
The university will continue to provide employees and job applicants the option to voluntarily self-identify across multiple demographic categories including race, ethnicity, gender, disability and veteran status. Federal affirmative action practices related to the employment of protected veterans and individuals with disabilities will also remain in place.
Practices no longer in effect include compliance activities under the (now rescinded) Executive Order 11246, such as annual reporting on the racial and gender diversity of the university’s employees and required documentation of outreach to minority and women applicants for job groups where they are statistically underrepresented.
For more information, please read the FAQ and the current versions of the university’s Recruitment and Hiring Guidelines and updated resources available on the Office for Access & Equity’s Search Process Toolkit webpage.
Sincerely,
Shari Mickey Boggs
Senior Associate Chancellor for Human Resources
Deb Stone
Assistant Chancellor for HR Centers of Expertise
Nizam Arain
Associate Vice Chancellor for Access and Equity
Heidi Johnson
Director, Affirmative Action Analytics and Planning Division
Office for Access & Equity