AACSB Faces A Social Media Backlash Over Dropping Diversity Guidelines

AACSB CEO Lily Bi says the reframing of diversity and inclusion in the agency’s guidelines are meant to protect member business schools

President Donald Trump’s campaign to stamp out diversity, equity, and inclusion policies has caused the top global accrediting body to reframe its once-loud embrace of diversity and inclusion. The Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business (AACSB) has replaced “diversity and inclusion” with “community and connectedness” in its guiding principles for accredited schools.

The update by the AACSB follows widespread criticism of DEI efforts by Trump and his Republican allies, who argue that such initiatives constitute “an immense public waste and shameful discrimination.” The change reflects an about-face for the AACSB. Only six months ago, Lisa Ordóñez, dean of the Rady School of Management at UC San Diego, expressed gratitude towards the AACSB for promoting diversity in business education, especially amid challenges to DEI programs in various states.

Just last week, the University of Virginia became the latest state school to abandon a DEI initiative. The university’s governing board voted on Friday to dissolve the school’s office of diversity, equity, and inclusion. Republican Governor Glenn Youngkin, who appointed the majority of members on UVA’s Board of Visitors, praised the decision to remove the DEI office, saying the board voted for “common sense.” “DEI is done at the University of Virginia,” Youngkin said in a statement.

‘A FAILURE OF LEADERSHIP’

Nonetheless, the AACSB retreat has sparked immediate criticism of the agency on social media. Critics argue that the change undermines efforts to promote DEI in business education education and that the AACSB is yielding to political pressures, potentially hindering progress toward more inclusive educational environments. The backlash against the AACSB has been loudest in Europe where business schools have taken the lead on ESG (Environmental, Social, and Governance) initiatives.

Ioannis Ioannou, an associate professor of strategy at London Business School,  calls the decision “a failure of leadership.” In a post on LinkedIn, he wrote that “business schools are responsible for shaping the next generation of leaders. What kind of message does this send? That principles are only worth defending when they are convenient? That commitments to fairness and representation can be erased the moment they become contentious? Even more troubling is the claim that the AACSB’s ‘mission remains the same.’ If that were true, the words wouldn’t need to disappear. Words matter. Commitments matter. Leadership is about standing firm in the face of pressure—not backing down when it becomes politically uncomfortable.”

Adds Guido Palazzo, a professor of business ethics at the University of Lausanne: “This is pre-emptive sycophant obedience. Isn’t that a good opportunity to drop this accreditation system in Europe?”

He’s not the only critic to question the organization’s viability. “Time for a new accreditation body,” chimed in David Jacobs, an adjunct professor at American University and a lecturer at George Washington University. “What next?,” asked Edward O’Connor, a lecturer & researcher at the School of Business at Maynooth University in Ireland. “An approved list of texts and books? Time to rethink being a part of an organisation such as this!”