Leaked documents posted to the social media platform X on Thursday by U.S. Representative Andy Ogles (R-TN-05) appear to show Belmont University quietly continued its Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) programs and initiatives despite the executive order, signed by President Donald Trump, aiming to strip federal DEI funding.
The first document, an email sent by Belmont University associate professor Lora Harding on April 22 with the subject line “Voting for University Committee Seats,” revealed the university sought to fill an open seat for a faculty member on its “Inclusion, Diversity, and Equity” committee for the 2025-26 academic year.
Faculty members interested in voting on nominees to serve on the DEI committee were instructed to vote by April 25.
In his post, Ogles wrote that multiple Belmont professors and a constituent contacted his office, “blowing the whistle on just how aggressively” the university “is pushing DEI indoctrination behind the scenes.”
He wrote, “Belmont claims to be a Christian university. DEI is a radically un-Christian, anti-truth ideology. This has no place in Tennessee.”
🚨 BELMONT BOMBSHELL 🚨
Within HOURS, multiple professors have contacted my office, blowing the whistle on just how aggressively Belmont University’s administration is pushing DEI indoctrination behind the scenes.With the help of constituent @AlexisWilkins, I obtained a leaked… pic.twitter.com/qEgJmEMRJH
— Rep. Andy Ogles (@RepOgles) July 17, 2025
Ogles wrote in a second post to X that he additionally obtained a document showing Belmont instructed faculty members to explain how new or modified courses would, “include perspectives from diverse and/or historically underrepresented populations,” which the congressman said pointed toward DEI.
“This means every course at Belmont must now be tailored to anti-gospel DEI ideology—or risk being denied by the Belmont Provost,” wrote Ogles. “President Trump banned this kind of academic coercion in the United States. Yet Belmont is allegedly still forcing professors to comply with this form.”
🚨 BELMONT BOMBSHELL #2 🚨
My office just obtained an official document requiring all Belmont faculty to justify how any course proposals or revisions “include perspectives from diverse and/or historically underrepresented populations…”This means every course at Belmont must… pic.twitter.com/bmNskHChlG
— Rep. Andy Ogles (@RepOgles) July 17, 2025
The documents were unearthed shortly after video was published which appeared to show a Belmont University official explain the decision to move its DEI program to a new office, called Hope, Unity, and Belonging (HUB), was made in a bid to avoid federal scrutiny.
After receiving the documents, Ogles sent a letter to U.S. Secretary of Education Linda McMahon on Wednesday, requesting she examine Belmont University to determine whether the activities of HUB are substantially different from those of the university’s previous DEI office, and to strip federal funding from the institution if the allegations are proven true.
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Tom Pappert is the lead reporter for The Tennessee Star, and also reports for The Pennsylvania Daily Star and The Arizona Sun Times. Follow Tom on X/Twitter. Email tips to [email protected].
Belmont University was founded and maintained for decades by the sacrificial offerings and tuition payments of Southern Baptists whose desire was to have a Baptist college. Liberal activists gained positions on its governance and reimagined Belmont from its original purpose. They then made it clear that Belmont was no longer a Baptist institution.
Since then, tax dollars have funded the student grants that have made the expansion and reimagining of Belmont possible.
Belmont is a shrine of liberal activism.
Good trouble, good sin. . .
Wisconsin tried this a couple months ago by either outsourcing to an independant contractor, or just rebranding it a belonging instead of inclusion.