As universities across the nation scramble to evaluate new federal policies aimed at dismantling programs that focus on diversity, equity, and inclusion—commonly referred to as DEI—one college administrator finds herself in a complex situation.
screen grab, University of California San Diego video
Lakshmi Chilukuri is the provost of the University of California San Diego’s Sixth College and the mother-in-law of Vice President JD Vance. She played a key role in establishing a pilot course focused on race, ethnicity, and gender in biology and medicine, participated in the university’s biological sciences diversity committee, and has consistently expressed pride in her institution’s dedication to diversity.
The university prominently displays its diversity initiatives on its website, and a letter from Chilukuri to incoming students highlights the school’s “steadfast adherence to principles that promote equity, inclusion, and the embrace of diversity.”
“As we enter the new academic year with the pandemic still lingering, and with issues of equity, systemic racism, anti-Blackness, and anti-Asian racism unresolved, we are presented with both opportunity and responsibility,” Chilukuri articulated in the undated letter, which the Internet Archive indicates was initially posted in late 2021 and updated slightly over the following year. It has remained the primary text on the Sixth College’s “About” page since then.
A crackdown on what President Trump and Vance label “wokeness” has characterized the early days of their administration. Significant reductions in DEI programs throughout academia, government, and across corporations have been among their notable early achievements.
In a statement, Vance remarked, “I don’t support DEI initiatives, and I take pride in what our administration has accomplished in that area.”
“However, I love my mother-in-law. If she holds different views on DEI, I’ll have to do what 99 percent of Americans do when faced with a disagreeing family member: move on,” Vance added. “I will instead focus on her generosity and the fact that she is an extraordinary mother and a devoted grandmother to my most cherished family.”
Vance went on to say, “This story exists because CBS has determined that targeting my mother-in-law is an acceptable way to undermine President Trump.” Chilukuri has not responded to emailed inquiries, and a university spokesperson declined to comment.
The Trump administration has aggressively challenged DEI initiatives on college campuses, threatening investigations, lawsuits, and the withdrawal of federal funding. A “Dear Colleague” letter from the Department of Education, dated February 14, warned schools nationwide that they risked losing federal funding if they continued to consider race in scholarship or hiring processes, or included race as a factor in any other aspect of student, academic, and campus life.
The administration’s efforts against DEI prompted a U.S. attorney to inform Georgetown Law School that its students would not be considered for employment at his office unless the school retracted its DEI programs. Notably, Trump’s alma mater, the University of Pennsylvania, has removed most references to diversity and inclusion from its websites, and on March 7, the University of Virginia’s governing board decided to disband its office of diversity, equity, and inclusion.
Numerous corporations have followed this trend, including CBS News’ parent company, Paramount, which ceased the use of race, ethnicity, sex, or gender-based hiring goals in late February, along with other DEI-related policy changes.
Vance has been outspoken about opposing DEI, frequently discussing it since the beginning of his political career. In a 2021 speech, he quoted Richard Nixon, calling professors “the enemy,” and urged Americans to “aggressively challenge the universities in this country,” asserting that they value diversity, equity, and inclusion over their own communities. This sentiment aligns with the president’s views, and the White House has supported it by issuing executive orders that threaten to withdraw federal funding from institutions operating what they deem “illegal” DEI programs, although they have not explained what constitutes illegal programs.
The president also instructed federal agencies to identify colleges with endowments exceeding $1 billion that might face investigation or lawsuits related to their DEI policies. UCSD’s endowment is reported to be over $1.4 billion, according to the UC San Diego Foundation’s website. In the last fiscal year, UCSD received more than $500 million in federal funding for research.
Vance married Chilukuri’s daughter Usha in 2014, and the couple has three young children. He shared in a 2020 podcast interview that Chilukuri took a sabbatical from her role as a professor to assist in caring for one of her grandchildren. He described his mother-in-law and her husband, also a professor, as quintessentially affectionate grandparents.
“You can really see the positive impact it has on him to be around them; they spoil him and do all the classic grandparent things,” Vance remarked. “But it enriches him to have their influence, and the evidence on this, by the way, is very clear.”
Chilukuri has dedicated decades to UCSD, climbing the ranks to become provost in 2018.
“Professor Chilukuri has a proven record of dedication to undergraduate education, equity, and diversity,” the university’s chancellor and executive vice chancellor remarked in announcing her promotion to provost. They referred to her as “a creative and dynamic educator.”
This beloved professor, often referred to as “Provost Chill” or “Dr. C,” has been a strong advocate for DEI initiatives at the university. A 2019 article on the UCSD website highlighted BILD 60, a class listed in the school’s 2024-2025 catalog as fulfilling the DEI course requirement.
The course, titled “Exploring Issues of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion in Relation to Human Biology,” was developed because members of the Division of Biological Sciences’ Diversity Committee, including Chilukuri, recognized the necessity for a class that examines DEI issues through a scientific perspective, as noted in the article.
Chilukuri’s dedication to inclusivity was evident long before her provost role. Former student Kjeld Aamodt fondly remembered taking a freshman lecture course taught by her nearly two decades ago.
“It was a massive class—probably around 500 students—but I recall feeling as if she recognized me personally and showed a genuine interest in my development,” Aamodt recounted in an interview with CBS News.
Aamodt, now an orthodontist, stated that Chilukuri was one of the few professors to leave a lasting impression on him—even teaching him values he has continued to pass down to his own children.
“I remember her consistently addressing [diversity and inclusion], even at a time when we had a very diverse student body comprising various ethnicities all sharing one space in a large auditorium of about 500 students,” Aamodt reflected. “I felt welcomed and saw her genuinely connecting with individuals from diverse backgrounds, embodying the principles she advocated.”
Chilukuri’s commitment to diversity shines through in her letter to incoming students, in which she discusses the “opportunity and responsibility” to tackle systemic racism:
“How we embrace both will greatly influence who we are as a college and a community. By participating in our African Black Diaspora Living Learning Community, our Multi-Cultural Living Learning Community, the programs offered through our Student Affairs, Residence Life, Academic Advising, Student Council, Student Organizations, or our Culture, Art and Technology core academic program, I encourage each of you to engage in the dialogue and contribute to the solution.”
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