The Post-DEI Hollowing Phenomenon™
A Conceptual Framework Developed by Dr. Courtney Nicole Johnson, Ed.D.
Naming the quiet institutional shifts reshaping psychological safety, sense of belonging, and engagement for Black students in the post-DEI landscape.
1. Origin Story: Why This Language Was Needed
Over the past several years, the national climate around diversity, equity, and inclusion has shifted dramatically. DEI offices have contracted. Programming has quieted. Messaging has softened. And yet, the students most affected by these shifts—particularly Black students at Predominantly White Institutions—continue to carry experiences that remain unnamed, unacknowledged, and often unseen.
As a scholar, storyteller, and qualitative researcher, I observed the gap widening.
Students spoke of:
• promises that felt thinner
• support systems that felt lighter
• and a sense of belonging that suddenly felt harder to hold
What they were describing wasn’t simply a reduction in programming. It wasn’t merely a policy adjustment or a budget cut. It was something deeper—something atmospheric, structural, and emotional at the same time.
And yet, there was no language to describe it.
So, like scholars before me who were called to name truths that communities could feel but not yet articulate, I created language for the moment.
Thus, the Post-DEI Hollowing Phenomenon™ was born.
2. Working Definition (Teaser-Level Overview)
The Post-DEI Hollowing Phenomenon™ refers to an institutional pattern in which organizations publicly retain the language and symbolic commitments of diversity, equity, and inclusion while gradually reducing, diluting, or removing the programs, resources, authority, and protections that once gave those commitments substance.
This hollowing—structural, cultural, psychological, and emotional—can significantly affect:
• sense of belonging
• student engagement
• psychological safety
• access to culturally sustaining support networks
particularly for Black students navigating Predominantly White Institutions in the post-2020 era.
This phenomenon does not necessarily represent an explicit rejection of DEI.
Rather, it reflects a retreat from its operational substance while its language and symbolic presence remain intact.
And this emerging reality requires new vocabulary to be fully understood, named, and studied.
Conceptual Framework: Dimensions of the Post-DEI Hollowing Phenomenon™
3. What the Construct Seeks to Explain
The Post-DEI Hollowing Phenomenon™ helps illuminate:
• the difference between visible institutional commitments and actual structural support
• the emotional and psychological toll of DEI retrenchment on Black students
• how institutions experience subtle cultural shifts after DEI infrastructure is reduced
• why sense of belonging becomes fragile even when diversity messaging remains visible
• what happens when diversity language persists but diversity infrastructure shrinks
• the lived realities that often do not appear in institutional reports or public statements
In essence, this construct helps explain the growing gap between what institutions say and what students experience.
4. Why This Term Matters Now
We are living in a moment where:
• statewide DEI bans are emerging
• universities are restructuring or dissolving DEI units
• roles, titles, and responsibilities connected to diversity work are being quietly removed
• institutional compliance audits are reshaping programming decisions
• students of color—especially Black students—are feeling the shift in tangible ways
Recent federal and state policy actions have intensified these dynamics. Executive orders, legislative initiatives, and institutional risk assessments are accelerating the restructuring of DEI initiatives across higher education and other sectors.
As institutions navigate these pressures, many continue to retain the language of diversity and inclusion while quietly modifying or reducing the infrastructure that once supported those commitments.
These dynamics illustrate the institutional pattern described by the Post-DEI Hollowing Phenomenon™.
Traditional DEI-era theories were largely developed during periods of expansion.
Few frameworks currently account for the institutional contraction of diversity infrastructure now unfolding.
This construct seeks to meet that moment.
5. What Makes This Framework Original
The Post-DEI Hollowing Phenomenon™ is:
✔ Born from phenomenological research
Grounded in lived experiences of Black freshmen and sophomores at a Southwestern Predominantly White Institution.
✔ Rooted in qualitative depth
Interviews, a focus group, and document analysis illuminate experiences that large-scale surveys often miss.
✔ Scholar-practitioner grounded
Developed by an educator and researcher who has both studied and worked within the institutional environments being examined.
✔ Timely and responsive
Capturing the higher education landscape following the widespread DEI retrenchment that accelerated after 2023.
✔ A bridge between research and practice
Designed to inform educators, institutional leaders, policymakers, and scholars navigating this evolving terrain.
It is among the first conceptual frameworks to name and examine the emotional, structural, and cultural dimensions of DEI retrenchment and its impact on Black student engagement.
6. What Will Be Revealed in 2026
The full theoretical framework—including its dimensions, mechanisms, and implications—will be formally introduced through upcoming national presentations:
🎤 AAC&U Annual Meeting (2026)
🎤 NADOHE Annual Conference (2026)
🎤 CLASS Conference on Learning & Student Success (2026)
A formal publication and expanded research release will follow.
Until then, this page offers a foundation—not the full reveal—in order to honor the voices and experiences that shaped this work.
7. Connect With the Scholarship
To follow the development of this framework:
Explore my research on:
• student engagement
• sense of belonging
• Black student experiences at PWIs
• institutional climate and support structures
Reflect through storytelling and commentary:
Blog — CourtneyCoffeeChats
8. Speaking, Training & Consulting
Dr. Courtney Nicole Johnson offers:
• keynote addresses
• national conference presentations
• campus workshops and dialogues
• institutional climate reflection sessions
• leadership retreats
• faculty and staff development programs
Topics include:
• Sense of belonging
• Black student engagement
• DEI in transition
• Leadership in the post-DEI era
• Post-DEI Hollowing Phenomenon™
• Courageous care in higher education
To inquire about speaking or consulting:
(Contact information)
Recommended Citation
Johnson, C. N. (2025). Students’ step-up, university steps back: A phenomenological descriptive case study of Black student engagement, sense of belonging, and self-efficacy in the wake of one southwestern PWI’s dismantling of DEI (Doctoral dissertation, Clark Atlanta University). Available through the Robert W. Woodruff Library of the Atlanta University Center Institutional Repository.
Intellectual Property Notice
The Post-DEI Hollowing Phenomenon™ is an original conceptual framework developed by Dr. Courtney Nicole Johnson, Ed.D. (2025).
Developed and articulated through doctoral research completed at Clark Atlanta University.
All rights reserved.
