A Forthcoming Framework by Dr. Courtney Nicole Johnson

The Post-DEI Hollowing Phenomenon™

Naming the quiet shifts reshaping psychological safety, sense of belonging, and engagement for Black students in the new 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 could feel the gap widening.

Students spoke of:

  • promises that felt thinner,

  • support systems that felt lighter,

  • and sense of belonging that suddenly felt harder to hold.

What they were describing wasn’t simply a reduction in programming. It wasn’t a policy adjustment or a budget cut. It was something deeper. Something atmospheric. Something 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 a truth the world could feel but not articulate,
I created the language the moment demanded.

Thus, the Post-DEI Hollowing Phenomenon™ was born.

2. Working Definition (Teaser-Level Overview)

The Post-DEI Hollowing Phenomenon™ refers to the subtle but profound process through which institutions publicly maintain a commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion while quietly reducing, diluting, or retreating from the structures that once supported those commitments.

This hollowing—structural, cultural, psychological, and emotional—deeply affects:

  • sense of belonging

  • student engagement

  • psychological safety

  • access to culturally sustaining support networks

particularly for Black students navigating PWIs in the post-2020 era.

This is not a rejection of DEI.
It is a retreat from its substance while retaining its language.

And it requires new vocabulary to be understood, named, and transformed.

3. What the Construct Seeks to Explain

The Post-DEI Hollowing Phenomenon™ helps illuminate:

  • The difference between visible commitment and actual support

  • The emotional and psychological toll of DEI retrenchment on Black students

  • How institutions experience subtle cultural shifts after DEI reduction

  • Why sense of belonging becomes fragile even when messaging stays the same

  • What happens when diversity language remains, but diversity infrastructure shrinks

  • The lived realities that do not appear in institutional reports or press releases

This construct fills the 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 are being quietly removed

  • Students of color—especially Black students—are feeling the shift

  • Traditional theories no longer match current realities

Existing frameworks were developed during the expansion of DEI.
None of them accurately describe DEI’s contraction.

This construct meets the moment.

5. What Makes This Framework Original

The Post-DEI Hollowing Phenomenon™ is:

✔ Born from phenomenological research

Based on lived experiences of Black freshmen and sophomores at a Southwestern PWI.

✔ Rooted in qualitative depth

Interviews, a focus group, and document analysis illuminate what surveys miss.

✔ Theologically and spiritually informed

Created through reflection, prayer, and a calling to bear witness to truth.

✔ Scholar-practitioner grounded

Developed by an educator who has lived and worked in the systems she studies.

✔ Timely and urgent

Capturing the landscape after 2023–2024 DEI reduction across the U.S.

✔ A bridge between research and practice

Designed to inform educators, leaders, policymakers, and institutions.

It is the first framework of its kind to name the emotional, structural, and cultural dimensions of DEI retrenchment.

6. What Will Be Revealed in 2026

The full theoretical framework—its structure, dimensions, and implications—will debut through a series of national presentations:

🎤 2026 AAC&U Annual Meeting

🎤 2026 NADOHE Annual Conference

🎤 2026 CLASS Conference on Learning & Student Success

A formal publication and expanded research release will follow.

Until then, this page offers a foundation—not the full reveal—to honor the voices that shaped this work.

7. Connect With the Scholarship

To follow the development of this framework:

8. Speaking, Training & Consulting

Dr. Courtney Nicole Johnson offers:

  • Keynote addresses

  • National conference presentations

  • Workshops and campus dialogues

  • Institutional assessment and climate reflection sessions

  • Leadership retreats

  • Faculty and staff development

  • Faith-integrated conversations on Sense of Belonging and Care

Topics include:

  • Sense of belonging

  • Black student engagement

  • DEI in transition

  • Leadership in the post-DEI era

  • The Post-DEI Hollowing Phenomenon™

  • Courageous care in higher education

To inquire about speaking or consulting:

The Post-DEI Hollowing Phenomenon™ is the original conceptual framework created by Dr. Courtney Nicole Johnson (2025). All rights reserved.

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