Thirty‑one colleges have agreed to end campus partnerships with the PhD Project amid heightened scrutiny from federal guidance and political pressure targeting race‑based programming, Education Week reporting shows. Institutions cited legal risk and new administrative guidance in decisions to pause or terminate those engagements. At the same time the National Association of Diversity Officers in Higher Education named Emelyn dela Peña as its new president; dela Peña told The Chronicle she intends to press for clearer goals from diversity officers and stronger alignment of DEI work with antidiscrimination legal standards as institutions navigate uncertain enforcement terrain. Trustees and presidents now face a contested implementation landscape: courts have recently blocked parts of the Education Department’s anti‑DEI directives, but other guidance and litigation remain active. Campus leaders said the short‑term effect will be retrenchment of some programs and intensified compliance reviews, with longer‑term implications for faculty recruitment and student support.